Why is ammonia important?
The primary use of ammonia (NH3) is to provide nitrogen atoms for plants so they are able to make amino acids, proteins, and other biologically important molecules. In order to provide the vast amount of food demanded by a growing industrialised population, more efficient agricultural techniques and larger scale farms must be employed. There exists some naturally occurring nitrogen fixing bacteria that are able to convert atmospheric N2 into the more useful form of NH3 or ammonium (NH4+) ions and naturally occurring nitrate salts, but due to the demands of industrialism and capitalism, using these methods is not the most economically favourable option. Instead a more consistent and reliable supply of nitrogen in the …show more content…
The Haber process is used because it is the most energy efficient and economically favourable process currently used. The process involves combining hydrogen gas (H2), which was processed by steam reforming, and further refined by the Water-gas shift reaction, and nitrogen gas from the air (N2), of which is 78% N2, in a ratio of 3:1. These are added into a compressor, which maintains 15-35 MPa of pressure and the gases are fed into a reaction chamber at 350°C - 550°C containing several catalyst beds composed of porous iron-iron oxide fused with other compounds to increase the efficiency of the catalyst. The reaction mixture of NH3, and unreacted N2 and H2 (along with any impurities that may have been present) is fed into a condenser to liquefy the NH3. The unreacted, gaseous N2 and H2 is recycled by passing it back into the compressor to be reacted again in the reaction chamber. The liquid NH3 is then tapped off and stored in a storage …show more content…
Coking coal involves getting rid of the impurities in the coal to create a high carbon form of coal (coke). Such impurities include sulfur, cyanides, and ammonia. Dry distilling nitrogenous organic matter, and reducing nitrous acid and nitrites was energy intensive and resulted in low yields of ammonia and ammonium salts. Decomposing ammonium salts was also inefficient and required ammonium salts, which were becoming exhausted by the early 20th century. These methods were far too inefficient to satisfy the demands of industrialism and capitalism so none were used to the extent of the Haber process. The Haber process was initially used to aid the German efforts in World War 1 as it would provide nitrogen fertilisers and explosives to fight the Allies. At the time, explosives were relied on nitrate salts imported from Chilean salt deposits. Since the demand of these salts were so high, the supply was decreasing so much that a new source of a versatile nitrogenous compound had to be found otherwise Germany would lose the war much faster than they did and a global food crisis would
The primary use of ammonia (NH3) is to provide nitrogen atoms for plants so they are able to make amino acids, proteins, and other biologically important molecules. In order to provide the vast amount of food demanded by a growing industrialised population, more efficient agricultural techniques and larger scale farms must be employed. There exists some naturally occurring nitrogen fixing bacteria that are able to convert atmospheric N2 into the more useful form of NH3 or ammonium (NH4+) ions and naturally occurring nitrate salts, but due to the demands of industrialism and capitalism, using these methods is not the most economically favourable option. Instead a more consistent and reliable supply of nitrogen in the …show more content…
The Haber process is used because it is the most energy efficient and economically favourable process currently used. The process involves combining hydrogen gas (H2), which was processed by steam reforming, and further refined by the Water-gas shift reaction, and nitrogen gas from the air (N2), of which is 78% N2, in a ratio of 3:1. These are added into a compressor, which maintains 15-35 MPa of pressure and the gases are fed into a reaction chamber at 350°C - 550°C containing several catalyst beds composed of porous iron-iron oxide fused with other compounds to increase the efficiency of the catalyst. The reaction mixture of NH3, and unreacted N2 and H2 (along with any impurities that may have been present) is fed into a condenser to liquefy the NH3. The unreacted, gaseous N2 and H2 is recycled by passing it back into the compressor to be reacted again in the reaction chamber. The liquid NH3 is then tapped off and stored in a storage …show more content…
Coking coal involves getting rid of the impurities in the coal to create a high carbon form of coal (coke). Such impurities include sulfur, cyanides, and ammonia. Dry distilling nitrogenous organic matter, and reducing nitrous acid and nitrites was energy intensive and resulted in low yields of ammonia and ammonium salts. Decomposing ammonium salts was also inefficient and required ammonium salts, which were becoming exhausted by the early 20th century. These methods were far too inefficient to satisfy the demands of industrialism and capitalism so none were used to the extent of the Haber process. The Haber process was initially used to aid the German efforts in World War 1 as it would provide nitrogen fertilisers and explosives to fight the Allies. At the time, explosives were relied on nitrate salts imported from Chilean salt deposits. Since the demand of these salts were so high, the supply was decreasing so much that a new source of a versatile nitrogenous compound had to be found otherwise Germany would lose the war much faster than they did and a global food crisis would