The Human Impacts Database

A collection of useful numbers for quantifying the impacts of the human presence on Earth.

Global production mass of nitrogen contained in ammonia (NH3)

Atmospheric & Biogeochemical CyclesNitrogen

This quantity comes from a time series measurement and the most recent value (2020) is reported.

Value:

This is equivalent to...

≈ 1.52 × 108 tonnes N / yr
HuID: 61614
Relevant Year(s): 2020
Summary: The approximate mass of nitrogen in ammonia (NH3) produced globally. Ammonia is the primary derivative of atmospheric (N2) and is thus a prerequisite for synthesis of downstream nitrogen compounds. Nearly all of this mass is derived from the Haber-Bosch Process (Smith et al. 2020, DOI: 10.1039/c9ee02873k). In the United States most of this mass is used for fertilizer, with the remainder being used to synthesize nitrogen-containing chemicals including explosives, plastics, and pharmaceuticals (≈ 88%, USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020). The data come from the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) Statistical Database: Supply Database – Ammonia – Production & Trade Tables by Region.
Method: The approximate mass of nitrogen in ammonia (NH3) produced globally is compiled by the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) from major factories that report output. This mass reflects the supply or production of ammonia, not the usage or consumption of ammonia. The IFA does not provide an assessment of uncertainty. Each year, the IFA releases data for the past 12 years of ammonia production. We concatenate these data to generate a processed data file that contains data from all years since the inception of this database. The IFA occasionally releases revised figures for previous years. The processed datafile contains the most recent revised figures.
Source: International Fertilizer Association Ammonia – Production & Trade Tables by Region. (2021)
Dataset: Ammonia production in the years 2008-2020 (IFA_ammonia_production_2008-2020.csv)
global resolution
Trend:
Original Data License: © Some Rights Reserved, IFA
Added By: nsarai