Nitrogen and Phosphorus: Essential Elements for Life

Like the group 14 elements, the lightest member of group 15, nitrogen, is found in nature as the free element, and the heaviest elements have been known for centuries because they are easily isolated from their ores. Although nitrogen is the most abundant element in the atmosphere, it was the last of the pnicogens (Group 15 elements) to be obtained in pure form. In 1772, Daniel Rutherford, working with Joseph Black (who discovered CO₂), noticed that a gas remained when CO₂ was removed from a combustion reaction. Antoine Lavoisier called the gas azote, meaning “no life,” because it did not support life. When it was discovered that the same element was also present in nitric acid and nitrate salts such as KNO₃ (nitre), it was named nitrogen. About 90% of the nitrogen produced today is used to provide an inert atmosphere for processes or reactions that are oxygen sensitive, such as the production of steel, petroleum refining, and the packaging of foods and pharmaceuticals.