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The most abundant natural sources of nitrogen are nitrates, which are generally the result of long years of accumulation of guano (from bird nesting sites - seriously, it used to be very valuable business) although there are also some geological deposits (which I guess could simply be fossil guano).

The modern most common raw material for nitrogen is urea, which is also created by animals (in urine) but is much more important because it can be manufactured. It is chemically related to ammonia, which can also be manufactured and in some cases is used to make urea, but urea is the more common raw material since it is easier to handle, store, and transport than ammonia. The discovery of practical ways to manufacture ammonia and urea in large quantity was due to Bosch in Germany around the time of the first world war. It revolutionized war and farming, because explosives and fertilizer could be made from coal energy instead of needing to dig up bird guano from the coasts of Peru or Chile and ship it half way around the world.

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14y ago

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