calcium cyanamide

chemical compound

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June 22, 2026

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Calcium cyanamide is a chemical compound with the formula CaCN₂. It is primarily used as a fertilizer and a weed killer. This compound also serves as a source for creating other nitrogen-based compounds.1

The cyanamide process is a method of nitrogen fixation where calcium cyanamide is produced by reacting calcium carbide with nitrogen at high temperatures. Calcium cyanide, a related compound, is made from crude calcium cyanamide and is used as an insecticide and rodenticide.23

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carbide
Ionic carbides
…°C [1,800–2,200 °F]) to form calcium cyanamide, CaCN₂.CaC₂ + N₂ → CaCN₂ + C This is an important industrial reaction because CaCN₂ finds extensive use as a fertilizer owing to its reaction with water to produce cyanamide, H₂NCN. Most MC₂ acetylides have the CaC₂ structure, which is derived from…
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…°C [1,800–2,200 °F]) to form calcium cyanamide, CaCN₂.CaC₂ + N₂ → CaCN₂ + C This is an important industrial reaction because CaCN₂ finds extensive use as a fertilizer owing to its reaction with water to produce cyanamide, H₂NCN. Most MC₂ acetylides have the CaC₂ structure, which is derived from…
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nitrogen fixation
Industrial nitrogen fixation
…at high temperatures to form calcium cyanamide, which hydrolyzes to ammonia and urea. The cyanamide process was utilized on a large scale by several countries before and during World War I, but it too was energy-intensive, and by 1918 the Haber-Bosch process had rendered it obsolete.
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…at high temperatures to form calcium cyanamide, which hydrolyzes to ammonia and urea. The cyanamide process was utilized on a large scale by several countries before and during World War I, but it too was energy-intensive, and by 1918 the Haber-Bosch process had rendered it obsolete.
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