Question

How is ammonia manufactured industrially?

Answer 1

Ammonia is prepared on a large-scale by the Haber’s process.

${\mathrm{N}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)+3{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\leftrightharpoons 2{\mathrm{NH}}_3\left(\mathrm{g}\right){\mathrm{\Delta }}_{\mathrm{f}}{\mathrm{H}}^{\mathrm{o}}=-46.1\mathrm{kJ}/\mathrm{mol}$

The optimum conditions for manufacturing ammonia are:

(i) Pressure (around 200 × 10⁵ Pa)

(ii) Temperature (700 K)

(iii) Catalyst such as iron oxide with small amounts of Al₂O₃ and K₂O