Nitrous Oxide: Production, Application, and Protection of the Environment

Abstract

Natural and anthropogenic sources of nitrous oxide were considered, and their contribution to environmental pollution was determined. The effect of N₂O on Earth’s ozone layer was described. The commercial method of production of technical and medical nitrous oxide, based on decomposition of a hot solution of ammonia nitrate, was considered. Application areas of nitrous oxide were described, and examples of its use in organic and inorganic synthesis reactions, as well as in medicine, food industry, and technology were given. Methods employed for neutralizing process gases containing nitrogen oxides, in particular absorption and adsorption methods, were reviewed. Particular attention was paid to catalytic tail gas purification in various industries; high- and low-temperature reduction of N₂O by natural gas and ammonia were described; analytical review of the literature dedicated to catalytic systems and individual compounds that show activity in the decomposition and reduction of nitrous oxide was provided; and mechanisms of nitrous oxide decomposition over various catalysts were considered.