Question

How to produce ammonia on a large scale?

Answer 1

Production of Ammonia

• On a large scale, Ammonia (${\mathrm{NH}}_3$) is manufactured by Haber’s process.

Haber’s process

• Haber’s process is the most efficient and successful industrial procedure for the production of ammonia.
• In the Haber process, the atmospheric nitrogen (${\mathrm{N}}_2$) is converted to ammonia (${\mathrm{NH}}_3$) by reacting with Hydrogen (${\mathrm{H}}_2$).
• Here a metal catalyst is used and high temperatures and pressures are maintained.
• Below is the reaction to the Haber's process:
  $\underset{\mathrm{Nitrogen}}{{\mathrm{N}}_2}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)+3\underset{\mathrm{Hydrogen}}{{\mathrm{H}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}\stackrel{\mathrm{Iron}}{\rightleftharpoons }\underset{\mathrm{Ammonia}}{2{\mathrm{NH}}_3}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)$

The raw materials for the process are:

• Air, which supplies the nitrogen.
• Natural gas and water supply the hydrogen and the energy needed to heat the reactants.
• Iron is the catalyst and does not get used up.

Hence, the Haber process takes nitrogen gas from the atmosphere and combines it to form ammonia gas with molecular hydrogen gas.