1. Agrochemicals

• Nitrogen Source: Liquor ammonia is a readily available source of nitrogen, a crucial nutrient for plants.
• Fertilizer Production: It's used in the production of various liquid fertilizers, including ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate.
• Application: Farmers can apply liquor ammonia directly to the soil through irrigation systems or via foliar spraying.
• Soil Enhancement: It can improve soil fertility and structure, making it a valuable tool for agricultural practices.

2. Paints, Coatings & Adhesives

• Adjusting pH: Liquor ammonia is added to raise the pH of water-based paints, coatings, and adhesives, making them alkaline.
• Stabilizing Emulsions: In water-based systems, ammonia helps stabilize emulsions and pigment dispersions by creating charge repulsion, preventing the separation of components.
• Preservative: The alkaline nature of ammonia discourages the growth of bacteria in paints and coatings, acting as a preservative.
• Drying: Ammonia forms salts with acidic binders, which need to be decomposed with heat during the drying stage to prevent them from interfering with the finished product's properties.

3. Cleaning & Disinfectants

• Cleaning: Liquor ammonia effectively removes dirt, grease, and stubborn stains from various surfaces, making it a versatile cleaning agent.
• Neutralizing Odors: Its strong odor-eliminating properties make it useful for neutralizing foul smells in different settings.
• Disinfecting: When mixed with chlorine, liquor ammonia forms chloramines, which are effective disinfectants that kill harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses.
• Cleaning & Degreasing: In industrial settings, liquor ammonia is used for cleaning and degreasing, as well as in the production of textiles and plastics.

4. Water Treatment

• pH Control: Liquor ammonia is a key component in municipal and industrial water treatment. It's used to regulate pH levels, ensuring optimal conditions for disinfection and water purification processes.
• Neutralizing Acidic Effluents: In industrial facilities, liquor ammonia is used to neutralize acidic wastewater, preventing the release of harmful substances into the environment and ensuring compliance with regulations.

5. Fabric Solutions

• pH Stabilization: In textile manufacturing, liquor ammonia helps maintain a controlled alkaline environment, which is crucial for dye binding to fabrics.This ensures even dye distribution and enhances color vibrancy and consistency in large-scale textile production.
• Dye Absorption Enhancement: Liquor ammonia can improve the absorption of dyes by swelling certain fibers, like cotton, and increasing their porosity. This allows for better penetration and fixation of dyes, leading to more vibrant and long-lasting colors.
• Color Fixing: In some dyeing processes, liquor ammonia acts as a color fixing agent. It reacts with dyes to form insoluble compounds that firmly attach to the fibers, improving colorfastness.

6. Pulp & Paper Solutions

• Ammonium-based sulfite pulping: Ammonia is used as a base element in the ""cooking liquor"" to dissolve the non-cellulosic components of wood, producing pulp for paper making. This method offers advantages like shorter cooking times compared to calcium-based sulfite pulping and is more environmentally friendly.
• Dispersant: It is used as a dispersant for casein in paper coating. It helps to break down and evenly distribute the casein particles, preventing clumping and ensuring a uniform coating. This is important for achieving desired paper characteristics like smoothness, opacity, and printability.

7. Polymers & Resins

• Silylation: Ammonia serves as a solvent for the silylation of hydroxyl groups in polymers like cellulose and starch.
• Neutralizing Agent: In the production of certain resins, especially alkyd resins, ammonia can act as a neutralizing agent for acid groups, enabling water-solubilization of the polymers.
• pH Control: Liquor ammonia acts as a base, raising the pH of the reaction mixture. This is crucial in many polymerizations and resin formations, where a specific alkaline environment is needed for the reaction to proceed effectively.