Ammonium Sulfamate
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Ammonium sulfamate (or ammonium sulphamate) is a white crystalline solid, readily soluble in water. It is commonly used as a broad spectrum
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...
, with additional uses as a
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...
accelerator,
flame retardant Flame retardants are a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an combustion, ignition source and pr ...
and in industrial processes.


Manufacture and distribution

It is a salt formed from
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
and
sulfamic acid Sulfamic acid, also known as amidosulfonic acid, amidosulfuric acid, aminosulfonic acid, sulphamic acid and sulfamidic acid, is a molecular compound with the formula H3NSO3. This colourless, water-soluble compound finds many applications. Sulfamic ...
. Ammonium sulfamate is distributed under the following tradenames, which are principally herbicidal product names: Amicide, Amidosulfate, Ammate, Amcide, Ammate X-NI, AMS, Fyran 206k, Ikurin, Sulfamate, AMS and Root-Out.


Uses


Herbicide

Ammonium sulfamate is considered to be particularly useful in controlling tough woody
weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
s, tree stumps and brambles. Ammonium sulfamate has been successfully used in several major UK projects by organisations like the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers,
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
, the National Trust, and various railway, canal and waterways authorities. Several years ago the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) (known as Garden Organic), published an article on ammonium sulfamate after a successful set of herbicide trials. Though not approved for use by organic growers it does provide an option when alternatives have failed. The following problem weeds / plants can be controlled: Japanese Knotweed ('' Reynoutria japonica'', syn. ''Fallopia japonica''), Marestail / Horsetail (''
Equisetum ''Equisetum'' (; horsetail) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. ''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which ...
''), Ground-elder (''
Aegopodium podagraria ''Aegopodium podagraria'', commonly called ground elder, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those o ...
''), '' Rhododendron ponticum'', Brambles, Brushwood, Ivy (''
Hedera ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...
'' species),
Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mo ...
/Ragwort,
Honey fungus ''Armillaria'' is a genus of fungi that includes the '' A. mellea'' species ('honey fungus') that live on trees and woody shrubs. It includes about 10 species formerly categorized summarily as ''A. mellea''. ''Armillaria'' sp. are long-live ...
(''Armillaria''), and felled tree stumps and most other tough woody specimens.


Compost accelerator

Ammonium sulfamate is used as a composting accelerator in horticultural settings. It is especially effective in breaking down the tougher and woodier weeds put onto the compost heap.


Flame retardant

Ammonium sulfamate (like other ammonium salts, e.g.
Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), also known as monoammonium phosphate (MAP) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (NH4)(H2PO4). ADP is a major ingredient of agricultural fertilizers and dry chemical fire extinguishers. It also has ...
, Ammonium sulfate) is a useful
flame retardant Flame retardants are a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an combustion, ignition source and pr ...
. These salt based flame retardants offer advantages over other metal/mineral-based flame retardants in that they are water processable. Their relatively low decomposition temperature makes them suitable for flame retarding cellulose based materials (paper/wood). Ammonium sulfamate (like
Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), also known as monoammonium phosphate (MAP) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (NH4)(H2PO4). ADP is a major ingredient of agricultural fertilizers and dry chemical fire extinguishers. It also has ...
) is sometimes used in conjunction with
Magnesium sulfate Magnesium sulfate or magnesium sulphate is a chemical compound, a salt with the formula , consisting of magnesium cations (20.19% by mass) and sulfate anions . It is a white crystalline solid, soluble in water but not in ethanol. Magnesi ...
or Ammonium sulfate (in ratios of approximately 2:1) for enhanced flame retardant properties.


Other uses

Within industry ammonium sulfamate is used as a flame retardant, a plasticiser and in electro-plating. Within the laboratory it is used as a reagent.


Safety

Ammonium sulfamate is considered to be only slightly
toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
to humans and other animals, making it appropriate for amateur home garden, professional and forestry uses. It is generally accepted to be safe for use on plots of land that will be used for growing fruit and vegetables intended for consumption. It corrodes brass, copper, and iron. Its contact with eyes or skin can be harmful unless it is quickly washed off. In the United States, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...
has set a
permissible exposure limit The permissible exposure limit (PEL or OSHA PEL) is a legal limit in the United States for exposure of an employee to a chemical substance or physical agents such as high level noise. Permissible exposure limits were established by the Occupational ...
at 15 mg/m3 over an eight-hour time-weighted average, while the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the List of United States federal agencies, United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related occ ...
recommends exposures no greater than 10 mg/m3 over an eight-hour time-weighted average. These occupational exposure limits are protective values, given the IDLH concentration is set at 1500 mg/m3. It is also considered to be environmentally friendly due to its degradation to non-harmful residues.


European Union licensing

The pesticides review by the European Union led to herbicides containing ammonium sulfamate becoming unlicensed, and therefore effectively banned, from 2008. Its availability and use as a compost accelerator is unaffected by the EU's pesticide legislation.


See also

* Sulfamide


References

{{Ammonium salts Herbicides Ammonium compounds Sulfamates