5 Uses of Ammonia: Fertilizer Prices and Soil Guide

The 5 main uses of ammonia are: (1) nitrogen fertilizer, (2) explosives for mining and quarrying, (3) industrial refrigeration, (4) plastics, fibres and other chemicals, and (5) household and industrial cleaners. Fertilizer dominates: about 88% of US ammonia output went to fertilizer in 2025 (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026), and about 70% of world output does (IEA Ammonia Technology Roadmap).

This guide explains each use with data, compares the nitrogen fertilizers made from ammonia, shows recent prices, and gives a calculator for working out what nitrogen costs per acre on your own farm. The second half covers the six main uses of soil, because ammonia only matters to a farmer once it is in the ground.

What ammonia is and how it is made

Ammonia (chemical formula NH3) is one nitrogen atom joined to three hydrogen atoms. At normal temperature and pressure it is a colourless gas with a sharp smell. Kept under pressure, it becomes a liquid; that pressurised liquid is what farmers call anhydrous ammonia (“anhydrous” means without water).

Almost all ammonia is made by the Haber-Bosch process. Nitrogen is taken from the air and reacted with hydrogen at high temperature and pressure over an iron catalyst. The hydrogen usually comes from natural gas. In the US, about 95% of hydrogen is made by reforming natural gas, using steam at 700 to 1,000 °C (US Department of Energy).

Worldwide, the IEA reports that in 2020 about 72% of the 185 million tonnes of ammonia produced relied on natural gas, 26% on coal, about 1% on oil products and a fraction of a percent on electrolysis. Ammonia making used around 2% of the world’s final energy and caused about 1.3% of energy-related CO2 emissions, roughly 2.4 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of ammonia (IEA, 2021).

This link between ammonia and natural gas is why nitrogen fertilizer prices move with gas prices. When gas jumped in 2022, ammonia prices more than doubled, as the price chart below shows.

Where ammonia is made

The world produced an estimated 160 million tonnes of ammonia in 2025 (USGS, 2026). China is by far the largest producer, at about 49 million tonnes, close to a third of the total. Russia and the US are among the next largest, each at about 14 to 15 million tonnes.

Chart

Ammonia output, selected producers

Million tonnes, 2025 estimates

In the US, ammonia was made by 18 companies at 38 plants in 19 states during 2025. About 57% of US capacity sits in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, close to natural gas supplies, and active plants ran at about 80% of rated capacity (USGS, 2026). The US imported about 5% of the ammonia it used in 2025, down from 13% in 2021.

Nitrogen itself never runs short: the USGS notes that nitrogen from the atmosphere is available without limit. The limits on supply are plant capacity, natural gas and transport.

The 5 uses of ammonia explained

The order below follows the size of each use. The USGS lists the main US ammonia products, in falling order of quantity, as urea, ammonium nitrate, nitric acid, ammonium phosphates and ammonium sulfate.

1. Nitrogen fertilizer: the biggest use by far

Plants need nitrogen to build proteins and chlorophyll. Air is about 78% nitrogen, but most crops cannot use nitrogen gas directly. Ammonia turns that air nitrogen into a form plants can take up, which is why the IEA calls it the starting point for all mineral nitrogen fertilizers.

Farmers use ammonia in two ways. Some inject anhydrous ammonia straight into the soil with a knife applicator. The gas reacts with soil water to form ammonium, which clings to clay and organic matter and is later turned into nitrate by soil bacteria. Others buy fertilizers made from ammonia: urea, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) solutions, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and the ammonium phosphates MAP and DAP.

The scale is hard to overstate. Our World in Data estimates that nitrogen fertilizer supports about half of the world’s population, through the extra food it lets farms grow (Our World in Data). Corn, wheat, rice, canola and pasture are the largest users.

For a farmer, this use answers the question “what do farmers use ammonia for”: it is the cheapest common way to supply nitrogen to a crop, as the price section shows.

2. Explosives for mining, quarrying and construction

Ammonia is oxidised to nitric acid, and nitric acid plus more ammonia makes ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel oil (ANFO) and ammonium nitrate emulsions are the standard bulk explosives used to break rock in open-pit mines, quarries and road cuts. The USGS lists explosives among the main non-fertilizer uses of US ammonia.

The industry is large. A study for the Institute of Makers of Explosives found that commercial explosives support more than 60,000 US jobs and add more than US$19 billion a year to the US economy, and are used in quarrying aggregates and mining critical minerals (ISEE, 2024). Newer blasting products and controls are covered in our article on smart explosives in mining, and blasting rules sit within wider mining safety practice.

Because the same chemical is both a fertilizer and an explosive ingredient, ammonium nitrate is sold, stored and transported under security and safety rules in most countries.

3. Industrial refrigeration

Ammonia absorbs a lot of heat when it evaporates, so it works well as a refrigerant. Large cold stores, meat and poultry plants, dairies, breweries and ice rinks use ammonia refrigeration systems. It has no ozone-depleting effect and does not add to global warming when it leaks, unlike many synthetic refrigerants.

It still needs care. OSHA classes ammonia as a high health hazard because it is corrosive to the skin, eyes and lungs, and notes that it can burn at concentrations of about 15% to 28% in air. Its low odour threshold, about 20 ppm, means people usually smell a leak long before it reaches dangerous levels (OSHA). OSHA’s guidance focuses on the food processing industry, where most large ammonia systems run.

4. Plastics, fibres and other chemicals

Ammonia is a building block for many chemicals. The USGS names plastics, synthetic fibres and resins among its uses. Nylon, acrylic fibres, melamine resins used in laminates and adhesives, and many dyes and drugs all start from ammonia or nitric acid.

Ammonia also cleans exhaust. Urea solution sold as diesel exhaust fluid breaks down to ammonia in a truck’s or tractor’s exhaust system, where it converts nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and water. Power plants use ammonia in the same way to cut nitrogen oxide emissions.

In metallurgy, ammonia is used to harden steel surfaces (nitriding) and as a reagent in some processes that recover metals from ore. Readers who work with ore can see how deposits differ in our guide to types of ore deposits.

5. Household and industrial cleaners

Ammonia dissolved in water is a familiar cleaner. The US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry notes that people know its smell because it is used in smelling salts, household and industrial cleaners and window-cleaning products (ATSDR ToxFAQs). Household ammonia is a weak solution, but it should never be mixed with bleach, because the mix gives off toxic chloramine gas.

This is the smallest of the five uses by volume, but it is the one most people meet first.

A sixth use to watch: ammonia as a fuel

Ammonia can carry hydrogen and can be burned in engines and turbines without releasing CO2. The IEA’s roadmap describes a scenario in which, by 2050, about 125 million tonnes a year of ammonia would be used as an energy carrier, mostly as a ship fuel and in power plants, on top of 230 million tonnes for existing uses. This is a scenario, not a forecast, and near-zero-emission production was less than 1% of output when the roadmap was written (IEA, 2021).

Ammonia fertilizer types compared

The nitrogen content of a fertilizer decides how much product you must buy, haul and spread for each pound of nitrogen. Anhydrous ammonia is 82% nitrogen by weight, the highest of any nitrogen source, and the University of Minnesota Extension notes that it is often the least expensive source too (University of Minnesota Extension). The IEA lists typical nitrogen contents as urea 46%, ammonium nitrate 34%, UAN solution 30% (sold as UAN28 and UAN32), ammonium sulfate 21%, DAP 18% and MAP 11%.

Chart

Nitrogen content by fertilizer

Typical percent nitrogen by weight

The University of Minnesota Extension warns that anhydrous ammonia is dangerous to operators and animals if it escapes. Wear goggles and gloves, keep water at hand on the nurse tank, check hoses and valves, and follow the dealer’s training before you handle it.

Ammonia fertilizer prices and cost per pound of nitrogen

US retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the third week of October 2026 put anhydrous ammonia at an average of US$987 per ton, urea at US$674, UAN32 at US$486 and UAN28 at US$441. On a cost per pound of nitrogen, anhydrous was cheapest at US$0.60, against US$0.73 for urea, US$0.76 for UAN32 and US$0.79 for UAN28. Anhydrous was 18% dearer than a year earlier (DTN, 21 October 2026).

Chart

US retail cost per pound of nitrogen

US$ per lb N, third week of October 2026

Chart

US Gulf Coast ammonia price

Average, US$ per short ton, free on board

Wholesale prices swing harder. The USGS reports that the average Gulf Coast ammonia price was US$578 per short ton in 2021, US$1,070 in 2022 when natural gas spiked, and about US$450 in 2025. Long-run data on US fertilizer use and prices are kept by the USDA Economic Research Service.

Prices are only half of the decision. Anhydrous needs an applicator and a tank rental, and timing is narrower. Urea is easy to spread but can lose nitrogen to the air on warm, dry surfaces. Use the calculator below with your own prices and rates.

How much does nitrogen cost on your farm

Enter your dealer’s price per ton for anhydrous ammonia and urea, your planned nitrogen rate and your acres. The calculator converts each price to cost per pound of nitrogen using 82% nitrogen for anhydrous and 46% for urea (IEA), then works out the cost per acre and for the whole farm.

A typical use: a corn grower planning 160 lb of nitrogen per acre on 500 acres can see how much the cheaper pound of nitrogen in anhydrous saves against urea, and decide whether that covers applicator rental and labour.

What soil is and why it matters to ammonia

The FAO describes soil, in its traditional meaning, as the natural medium for the growth of plants (FAO Soils Portal). It is a mix of mineral particles (sand, silt and clay), organic matter, water, air and living organisms.

Soil decides what happens to ammonia fertilizer. Ammonium holds on clay and organic matter. Soil bacteria turn it into nitrate, which plants take up easily but which also moves with water. On sandy soils, in wet springs, or when nitrogen is applied long before the crop needs it, nitrate can wash below the roots or be lost as gas. That is why soil type, organic matter and timing matter as much as the product you choose. For more background see our pieces on the importance of soil in agriculture and on urea fertilizer and yields.

▶ Why soil organic matter matters for crops, water and nutrients. · 7:33

6 uses of soil

Soil does far more than hold up crops. These are its six main uses. A longer list is in our article on 20 uses of soil.

1. Growing crops and pasture

Soil holds water and nutrients, anchors roots and hosts the microbes that cycle nitrogen. Nearly all food, feed and fibre grows in it. Fertilizer made from ammonia only works when the soil can hold and release it.

2. Storing and filtering water

Soil soaks up rain, stores it for plants and filters it on its way to groundwater. Soils with more organic matter hold more water and lose less nitrogen to runoff.

3. Building and engineering material

Soil is the foundation for roads, buildings and dams, and is itself a building material in earth embankments, rammed earth and bricks. Engineers test its strength and drainage before they build on it.

4. A source of minerals and raw materials

Sand, gravel, clay and peat are dug from soil and the loose material beneath it. Placer deposits of gold, tin and heavy minerals sit in river sediments. Mining these materials changes the land, which is why closure and land restoration are part of every mine plan.

5. Forests and wildlife habitat

Soil supports forests, grasslands and wetlands, and is home to a huge range of life, from earthworms and fungi to bacteria that fix nitrogen naturally.

6. Storing carbon

Soil organic matter is largely carbon, so soil is one of the largest carbon stores on land. Practices that build organic matter, such as cover crops, reduced tillage and careful nitrogen use, keep more of that carbon in the ground.

Using ammonia fertilizer with less loss

Most of the greenhouse gas from nitrogen fertilizer comes after it is applied, not at the factory: the IEA estimates that use-phase emissions, mainly nitrous oxide from soil, are upwards of 70% of the life-cycle total. Lost nitrogen is also lost money. These steps cut both:

1. Test your soil and set the nitrogen rate from local university guidance for your crop and yield goal.
2. Apply closer to when the crop needs it. Split applications reduce the time nitrate sits exposed to rain.
3. Incorporate urea or use a urease inhibitor when rain is not expected within a few days.
4. Inject anhydrous at the right depth and into soil with good moisture so the slot seals.
5. Watch crop colour and growth during the season and adjust side-dress rates where fields lag.

Satellite crop monitoring helps with the last step: vegetation index maps show where a field is greener or paler than the rest, so you can check those zones before the next nitrogen pass. Farmonaut offers this kind of field monitoring from satellite images.

▶ Six plain steps to start precision agriculture, including checking fields from satellite images. · 4:18

Safety rules for ammonia on the farm

ATSDR notes that ammonia is applied directly into soil on farm fields and is used to make fertilizers for crops, lawns and plants, so farm families are among the people most likely to meet it at high concentrations. Basic rules:

• Wear chemical goggles and ammonia-rated gloves when connecting or disconnecting hoses.
• Carry at least 5 gallons of clean water on the tractor and tank for flushing eyes and skin.
• Stand upwind, bleed lines before disconnecting and never stand in line with a valve.
• Replace hoses on the dealer’s schedule and check the tank’s pressure relief valve.
• Store household ammonia away from bleach and never mix the two.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 5 uses of ammonia?

Nitrogen fertilizer, explosives for mining and construction, industrial refrigeration, plastics and other chemicals, and household cleaners. Fertilizer takes about 88% of US output (USGS) and about 70% worldwide (IEA).

What are two uses of ammonia?

The two largest are making nitrogen fertilizer and making ammonium nitrate explosives for mining and quarrying.

What is ammonia used for in farming?

Farmers inject anhydrous ammonia into the soil as a nitrogen fertilizer or apply fertilizers made from it, such as urea, UAN, ammonium sulfate and DAP.

Why do farmers use anhydrous ammonia instead of urea?

It holds 82% nitrogen against 46% for urea and is usually cheaper per pound of nitrogen; in October 2026 DTN put it at US$0.60 per lb N versus US$0.73 for urea. It needs special equipment and careful handling.

What is one important use of ammonium salts in agriculture?

As a fertilizer. Ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium phosphates all supply nitrogen to crops, and some also supply sulfur or phosphorus.

What happens to ammonia in soil?

It reacts with soil water to form ammonium, which binds to clay and organic matter. Soil bacteria then turn ammonium into nitrate, the form most crops take up.

Why is ammonia important?

Without ammonia-based fertilizer, farms could feed far fewer people; Our World in Data estimates nitrogen fertilizer supports about half of the world’s population.

Is ammonia dangerous?

Yes, in concentrated form. OSHA classes it as corrosive to skin, eyes and lungs, and it can burn at about 15% to 28% in air. Household ammonia is weaker but should never be mixed with bleach.

How is ammonia made?

By the Haber-Bosch process, which combines nitrogen from the air with hydrogen, usually made from natural gas or coal.

Which country produces the most ammonia?

China, with about 49 million tonnes in 2025 out of a world total of about 160 million tonnes (USGS, 2026).

What are the uses of soil?

Growing crops, storing and filtering water, building and engineering, supplying minerals and raw materials, supporting forests and wildlife, and storing carbon.

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