What is the melting point and boiling point of ammonia gas?
Good question. At sea level pressure (14.7psia), ammonia boils
at -28degrees F or approximately -33degreesC. Under considerably
greater pressure, it is a liquid even at room temperature. Because
it can be readily compressed into a liquid at room temperature and
well beyond, it becameTHE refrigerant of choice in the early days
of mechanical refrigeration and air-conditioning. However, its
toxic nature made it dangerous/unsuitable to use in home
refrigeration, and absolutely unsuitable for use in car air
conditioning. When DuPont invented dichlorodifluoromethane, or
"Freon12" in the 1940s, with a P-T liquification curve similar to
that of ammonia, ammonia was quickly displaced in many/most
applications in favor of "Freon12" and car air conditioning came
into being. However, even to this day ammonia is still used as a
refrigerant in some industrial applications, such as ice houses,
due to its cheap price, and it poses no threat to the overall
environment.