Page 881

 Domestic production of fixed nitrogen increased by 2%, while production
of elemental nitrogen increased by 15% in 1972. Domestic ammonia plants produced
at about 84% of their total capacity. 
 Farmland Industries, Inc., announced plans to build an ammonia plant near
Enid, OkIa. 
' Includes ammoniuns sulfate from coking plants. 
 Sources: Bureau of the Census and Tariff Commission. 
  881Nitrogen 
By Ted C. Briggs1 
 Exports of major nitrogen compounds surged upward in 1972, with a 31% increase
above 1971 exports and an $81 million increase in value of the exports. There
was little overall change in total imports. A large increase in urea imports
was partially offset by a sharp drop in imports of sodium nitrate. 
1Chemist, Division of Nonmetallic Minerals. 
Table 1.—Salient nitrogen statistics 
(Thousand short tons of contained nitrogen) 
 1968 1969 1970 
1971 
1972 ~ 
United States: 
 Production as ammonia 10,130 10,664 11,516 Productionasnitrogengas 4,302
4,807 5,477 Exports of nitrogen compounds '  1,428 1,645 1,400 
Imports for consumption of nitrogen com 
 pounds' 669 738 942 
 Consumption' 9,682 9,939 10,876 
World: Production' 35,427 39,556 42,747 
11,673 
6,087 
999 
907 
.11,469 45,357 
11,901 
7,011 
1, 310 
947 
11,583 
47,398 
s Preliminary. 
' Estimated, excludes nitrogen gas. 
Table 2.—Nitrogen production in the United States (Thousand short tons
of contained nitrogen) 
 1968 1969 1970 
1971 
1972 ~ 
Anhydrous ammonia: Synthetic plants' 9,968 10,502 11,369 
Ammonia compounds, coking plants: 
 Ammonia liquor 14 12 12 Ammonium sulfate 142 143 126 Aminonium phosphates
6 7 9 
 Total 10,130 10,664 ' 11,516 
Nitrogengas' - 4,302 4,807 5,477 
11,538 
12 
114 
9 
11,762 
11 
128 
(5) 
11,673 
6,087 
11,901 
7,011 
P Preliminary. 
' Bureau of the Census Current Industrial Reports 
' Included with ammonium sulfate to avoid disclosing individual company data.
Table 3.—Major nitrogen compounds 
produced in the United States 
(Thousand short tons, gross weight) 
Compounds 
1971 
1972 
Acrylonitrile              
- - 
557 
Ammonium nitrate         
Ammonium sulfate'       
Ammonium phosphates     
Nitric acid                
Urea                    
6,605 
2,361 
5,891 
6,742 
3,071 
6,872 
2,471 
6,499 
7,022 
3,510