Haber Process
- Submitted by: lykie
- Views: 118
- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 11/19/2015 02:04 PM
- Pages: 3
- Report this Essay
Industrial processes- the Haber process
Fritz Haber was a German physical chemist. He won the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his successful work on nitrogen fixation. Fritz Haber is also well known for his supervision of the German poison gas program during World War I. His name has been associated with the process of synthesizing ammonia. He is also known as the “father of chemical warfare”. Haber died on the 29th of January 1934. His work, however, is a great contribution to this developed world.
Conditions used in the Haber process include:
* medium temperature (~500oC)
* very high pressure (~250 atmospheres, ~25,500kPa)
* a catalyst (a porous iron catalyst prepared by reducing magnetite, Fe3O4).
Osmium is a much better catalyst for the reaction but is very expensive.
This process produces an ammonia, NH3(g), yield of approximately 10-20%.
The reaction between nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas to produce ammonia gas is an exothermic equilibrium reaction, releasing 92.4kJ/mol of energy at 298K (25oC).
N2(g)
nitrogen | + | 3H2(g)
hydrogen | heat, pressure, catalyst
| 2NH3(g)
ammonia | ΔH = -92.4 kJ mol-1 |
OR
N2(g)
nitrogen | + | 3H2(g)
hydrogen | heat, pressure, catalyst
| 2NH3(g)
ammonia | + 92.4 kJ mol-1 |
By Le Chatelier's Principle:
* Notice that there are 4 molecules on the left-hand side of the equation, but only 2 on the right.
According to Le Chatelier's Principle, if you increase the pressure the system will respond by favouring the reaction which produces fewer molecules. That will cause the pressure to fall again.
* Decreasing the temperature causes the equilibrium position to move to the right resulting in a higher yield of ammonia since the reaction is exothermic (releases heat). Reducing the temperature means the system will adjust to minimise the effect of the change, that is, it will produce more heat since energy is a product of the reaction, and will therefore produce more ammonia gas as well...
Fritz Haber was a German physical chemist. He won the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his successful work on nitrogen fixation. Fritz Haber is also well known for his supervision of the German poison gas program during World War I. His name has been associated with the process of synthesizing ammonia. He is also known as the “father of chemical warfare”. Haber died on the 29th of January 1934. His work, however, is a great contribution to this developed world.
Conditions used in the Haber process include:
* medium temperature (~500oC)
* very high pressure (~250 atmospheres, ~25,500kPa)
* a catalyst (a porous iron catalyst prepared by reducing magnetite, Fe3O4).
Osmium is a much better catalyst for the reaction but is very expensive.
This process produces an ammonia, NH3(g), yield of approximately 10-20%.
The reaction between nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas to produce ammonia gas is an exothermic equilibrium reaction, releasing 92.4kJ/mol of energy at 298K (25oC).
N2(g)
nitrogen | + | 3H2(g)
hydrogen | heat, pressure, catalyst
| 2NH3(g)
ammonia | ΔH = -92.4 kJ mol-1 |
OR
N2(g)
nitrogen | + | 3H2(g)
hydrogen | heat, pressure, catalyst
| 2NH3(g)
ammonia | + 92.4 kJ mol-1 |
By Le Chatelier's Principle:
* Notice that there are 4 molecules on the left-hand side of the equation, but only 2 on the right.
According to Le Chatelier's Principle, if you increase the pressure the system will respond by favouring the reaction which produces fewer molecules. That will cause the pressure to fall again.
* Decreasing the temperature causes the equilibrium position to move to the right resulting in a higher yield of ammonia since the reaction is exothermic (releases heat). Reducing the temperature means the system will adjust to minimise the effect of the change, that is, it will produce more heat since energy is a product of the reaction, and will therefore produce more ammonia gas as well...