Nitrogen is a compound gas that is among the most common elements on the planet. It comprises a huge part of the Earth’s atmosphere.
It is omnipresent and comprised of everything from air to DNA, yet you will hardly know it exists. Whenever you breathe, you inhale over three-quarters of nitrogen. But is nitrogen flammable?
No, nitrogen is not a flammable gas! It is non-toxic, colorless, and odorless. Its most significant threat is asphyxiation because of the displacement of oxygen. It also possesses a strong triple bond, which is stable and results in low reactions.
In most cases, nitrogen will not combust, but we’ll come back to that! For now, let’s quickly learn more about nitrogen!
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What Is Nitrogen?
Nitrogen (N2), also known as dinitrogen (IUPAC), is a chemical compound with the symbol N and atomic number 7. It was discovered by a Scottish physician and chemist, Daniel Rutherford, in 1772.
This element is essential to live organisms and sustains lives. It is among the three most common elements alongside carbon and hydrogen.
Two atoms of the elements combine with an N-N type at standard temperature and pressure to form dinitrogen or nitrogen gas, which comprises around 78.1% of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Additionally, in clustered numbers, ammonium salts, nitric acid, and nitrogen oxides exist in the atmosphere.
The following are the highlights of the basic properties of nitrogen:
- N≡N: this means that it is a diatomic molecule comprising two atoms combined with triple bonds featuring the highest bond strength.
- It features about 3 or 5 valence electrons and can constitute a bond in outer 2s and 2p orbits.
- It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and non-toxic gas.
- It is lighter than air and perfect for filling balloons and producing floating devices.
- It comprises about three out of every ten molecules in the air.
- It possesses low melting (-210 degree C) and boiling (-196 degree C) points.
- It is also an ideal source for agriculture as a fertilizer.
- The non-reactivity of the chemical makes it useful in several ways. For instance, in making steel, you can use it to disconnect molten metal from oxygen impurities and to cleanse pipelines to enhance the flow of oil or natural gas without decomposing.
Is Nitrogen Flammable?
Nitrogen is not highly flammable under normal circumstances, nor is it combustible. It is unusual considering its abundance in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The best explanation for its non-flammability is its poor thermal conductivity compared to hydrogen and oxygen. In other words, it will hardly even sustain a flame at the atmospheric level.
If you could imagine nitrogen-catching flames each time you lit a match, the Earth would never stop burning. But fortunately for us all, nitrogen is not flammable or combustible. Assuming it was, it would have been disastrous for human lives and organisms.
Is Nitrogen Explosive?
Just as it is not flammable, it cannot explode. However, like other gases, if you store it in canisters (heated canisters, to be precise), the nitrogen risks expansion and might result in the explosion of the canister with excessive expansion.
Going by a user’s hindsight, it would look like nitrogen cannot explode at this stage. In other words, we would advise you to store nitrogen cylinders in a well-secured area and free from potential heat or fire sources.
Can Nitrogen Catch On Fire?
Most times, you would think nitrogen is a hazardous gas because of the NITRO in its name, which is a short form of explosive nitroglycerine.
But it is not always true. Even though it contains the word nitro in its expression, it will not catch on fire since it is a gas at room temperature.
This is why it is referred to as ‘foul air’ by a popular Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
He was able to discover, through his experiments using ordinary tools and heating different substances, that the atmosphere consists of two kinds of elements, including one that is prone to quickly combust and the other that cannot. It proves that oxygen is not nitrogen but fire air.
Can Nitrogen Spontaneously Combust?
Nitrogen will hardly combust spontaneously. It already has sufficient time burning in the first place, so you should not expect it to suddenly start burning without effort.
What Makes Nitrogen Non-Flammable?
Nitrogen is non-flammable because it has a triradical structure. In other words, it is made of three paired electrons. Its electronic configuration reads; 1s2 2s2 2s3, which is in contrast to the perfect state of the outer shell, which reads; ns2 np6.
Therefore, completing its octet creates a connection with another nitrogen element and shares the extra three electrons, subsequently featuring higher dissociation energy.
It leads to nitrogen’s unreactive participation as a component of chemical reactions, just as other noble gases, including argon, xenon, etc., with complete outer orbits.
This connection or bond strengthens and requires high activation energy of over 30,000 degrees to abandon its stability and carry out oxidization or hydrolysis reactions.
How Dangerous Is Nitrogen?
Nitrogen is hardly dangerous in normal conditions. It is part of what we inhale and exhale every day of our lives and is present in our body system. However, raising the nitrogen level in the atmosphere high enough to force oxygen out could end up suffocating you.
Therefore, if you are using nitrogen gas for any activity, it would be best to ensure that the area is well-ventilated, as you would avoid any potential disaster or risk.
Can Nitrogen Be Destroyed? Or Created?
No, you can never destroy nitrogen. With its functions in the nitrogen cycle, it will hardly dissipate. But, considering the law of conservation of matter, nitrogen can neither be created nor destroyed in chemical processes such as burning.
Also, it cannot be created because it is already present in the atmosphere, which we breathe in and out every day of our lives.
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