Fixation of atmospheric nitrogen

The nitrogen contained in the atmosphere is in an inert form and does not readily lend itself to chemical reactions. To overcome this is the province of “nitrogen fixation.” There are very definite commercial limitations involved in accomplishing this as the world's supply of nitrogen has been readily obtained from vast natural deposits of sodium nitrate in Peru and Chile and the production of a substitute must be at a competitive cost. The electrical processes for fixing nitrogen have a very low efficiency, due to utilizing thermal energy only. Combinations of electrical and chemical methods promise the most important developments. Comparative figures are given showing amount of energy necessary per kilogram of nitrogen fixed, and the general economics of the subject are discussed.