Ammonia

The History Before the start of World War I, most ammonia was obtained by the dry distillation of nitrogenous vegetable and animal products; by the reduction of nitrous acid and nitrites with hydrogen. Also, it could be acquired by the decomposition of ammonium salts. The Haber process, which is the production of ammonia by combining hydrogen and nitrogen, was first patented by Fritz Haber in 1908. In 1910 Carl Bosch, while working for the German chemical company BASF, successfully commercialized the process and secured further patents. It was first used on an industrial scale by the Germans during World War I. Since then, the process has often been referred to as the Haber-Bosch process.

The Haber Process combines nitrogen from the air with hydrogen derived mainly from natural gas (methane) into ammonia. The reaction is reversible and the production of ammonia is exothermic. Exothermic means that the production gives off energy as heat. Fritz Haber 

The catalyst The catalyst is actually slightly more complicated than pure iron. It has potassium hydroxide added to it as a promoter - a substance that increases its efficiency. The catalyst increases the rate of reaction but does not change the percentage yield. The pressure The pressure varies from one manufacturing plant to another, but is always high. The high pressure increases the percentage yield of ammonia. The temperature A high temperature decreases the percentage yield of ammonia. High temperature gives a higher rate of reaction. 450oC is an optimum temperature to give a fast reaction with a sufficiently high percentage yield.

The End !!!! By Katie and Eleanor