Ammonia

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Ammonia

Ammonia is one of the most important chemicals because of its role in the production of fertilisers. It is made
in over 80 countries worldwide. About 130 million tonnes of it is made annually. The fertilisers are used in
agriculture to ensure sufficient food is produced to feed everyone on Earth

Learning Outcomes
1. State the major uses of ammonia.
2. Describe the use of nitrogen and hydrogen in the manufacture of ammonia.
3. State that some chemical reactions are reversible.
4. Describe the essential conditions for the manufacture of ammonia by the Haber process.
5. Describe the displacement of ammonia from its salts.

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1. Reversible Reactions

 Most chemical reactions proceed in one direction. We call these irreversible reactions.

NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq)  NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

 Some chemical reactions can be reversed. We call these reversible reactions.

forward reaction

N2(g) + 3H2(g) ∏ 2NH3(g)

backward reaction

 Both the forward and backward reactions take place at the same time.

 Reversible reactions do not go to completion.

 After some time, the reaction mixture reaches an equilibrium. At the equilibrium, both the
forward and backward reactions still continue, but the rate of the forward and backward
reactions are the same. Products are formed from the reactants as fast as the reactants are
formed from the products.

 At equilibrium, there is no change in the overall amount of reactants and products.

 The amounts of reactants and products in a reversible reaction can be changed by altering
the conditions of the reaction, e.g., temperature, pressure, use of catalyst.

2. The Haber Process

250 atm

 The nitrogen is obtained from fractional distillation of liquefied air. The hydrogen is obtained
from water (via steam reforming) or crude oil (cracking).

Steam reforming

CH4(g) + H2O(g)  CO(g) + 3H2(g)

Conditions: 700 to 1100 oC, nickel catalyst

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 The Haber process reaction is as follows:

N2(g) + 3H2(g) ∏ 2NH3(g)

Conditions: 250 atm, 450 oC, finely divided iron as catalyst

Note:
 The Haber process reaction is reversible.
 It is exothermic.
 Reaction takes place under high temperature and high pressure.
 Only about 10-15% of the reactants are converted into ammonia.

3. Conditions for the Haber Process

 Why high pressure (250 atm)?

 The graph shows that the higher the pressure, the higher the yield.
 Increasing the pressure favours the forward reaction. The speed of the forward reaction
increases.
 However, too high a pressure is costly to maintain because expensive equipment is
required.
 Hence, there is a compromise on the pressure used for the reaction. 250 atm is used.

 Why the temperature of 450 oC?

 The graph shows that the lower the temperature, the higher the yield.
 This is because the decomposition of ammonia through the backward reaction is
reduced.
 However, too low a temperature will reduce the rate of the forward reaction.
 Hence, a relatively high temperature of 450 oC is used.

 Why the finely divided iron catalyst?

 Despite the high pressure and relatively high temperature, the overall reaction is still
slow.
 A catalyst is used to speed up the reaction. It does not affect the yield.

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Enrichment: Why does an increase in pressure favour the forward reaction?

 When we increase the pressure on the reaction mixture, the reaction mixture will
attempt to counter this increase in pressure.
 This means that equilibrium will shift to remove this disturbance.
 On the LHS of the equation, there are 4 mol of gas molecules.
 On the RHS of the equation, there are 2 mol of gas molecules.
 To reduce the pressure that is applied on the reaction mixture, the rate of the forward
reaction will increase. This reduces the total number of particles in the reaction mixture,
thereby removing the disturbance.

4. How is the Ammonia Recovered?

methane air

steam reforming fractional

CH4(g) + H2O(g)  CO(g) + 3H2(g) distillation

hydrogen nitrogen

pass gases over iron catalyst

N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g)

recycle unconverted
nitrogen and hydrogen

ammonia

ammonia is condensed
out at -34oC

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 Ammonia

5. Other Reactions to Obtain Ammonia

 By heating a mixture of an ammonium salt and an alkali or base.

NH4Cl(s) + NaOH(aq)  NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + NH3(g)

(NH4)2SO4(s) + Ca(OH)2(aq)  CaSO4(s) + 2H2O(l) + 2NH3(g)

 The underlying reaction taking place in each case can be represented by the same ionic
equation:
NH4+ + OH  NH3 + H2O

 Ammonia gas is dried by passing it through calcium oxide (quicklime / lime):

CaO + H2O  Ca(OH)2

Note: Concentrated sulfuric acid cannot be used because it reacts with ammonia gas:
2NH3 + H2SO4  (NH4)2SO4

 Ammonia gas is collected by upward delivery (downward displacement of air) because it is

much less dense than air and is readily soluble in water.

6. Uses of Ammonia

 Manufacture of fertilisers

 Plants need many elements for growth. These elements are called plant nutrients. They
can be divided into two groups - nutrients required in large amounts and in trace amounts.
 Elements needed in large amounts for plant growth.

Nitrogen (N) for healthy green stems and leaves; for increase in protein content
of plants and size of crop
Phosphorus (P) for good root growth
Potassium (K) for flower and fruit formation; helps plant to photosynthesise.

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Checkpoint 1

Nitrogen and hydrogen react to produce ammonia. This reaction can be

demonstrated in the laboratory by the method shown in the diagram.

(a) What is the purpose of the iron wool?

The iron wool acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction between nitrogen
and hydrogen.

(b) In the industrial process, 15% of the nitrogen and hydrogen react to produce
ammonia. If the same percentage conversion takes place in the laboratory
demonstration, what volume of ammonia (measured at r.t.p.) would be
produced?

3H2(g) + N2(g) 2NH3(g)

N2  3H2  2NH3

At r.t.p, 3 dm3 of hydrogen reacts with 1 dm3 of nitrogen to produce 2 dm3 of

ammonia, hence

75 cm3 of hydrogen will react with 25 cm3 of nitrogen to produce 50 cm3 of

ammonia.

Since percentage conversion is 15%,

Volume of ammonia formed = 50 cm3 x 15% = 7.5 cm3

(c) How would you expect the actual volume of ammonia produced in the
laboratory demonstration to compare with the calculated volume in (b)?
Explain your answer. (You may assume that the iron wool is heated to the
same temperature as the iron used in the industrial process.)

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The actual volume is lower as the percentage conversion of ammonia in the

laboratory will be lower than 15%. This is due to the lower pressure in the
laboratory demonstration compared to the industrial process.

(d) In another experiment, 40 cm3 of ammonia gas was collected in a syringe.

This syringe was joined through a tube to a second syringe which was empty.
The tube, which contained an iron catalyst, was heated. The gas was passed
several times from syringe to syringe.

(i) What happened to the ammonia gas as it passed across the heated
catalyst?

It decomposes to form nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas.

(ii) Write an equation to show this reaction.

2NH3(g)  N2(g) + 3H2(g)

(iii) When the apparatus was cooled to room temperature, some students
thought the total volume of gas present would be 80 cm3. Why did they
think so?

From the equation, 2 moles of ammonia decomposes to produce 4

moles of gaseous products. Hence, 2 volumes of ammonia
produces 4 volumes of gaseous products.

Therefore, 40 cm3 of ammonia decomposes to produce 80 cm3 of

gaseous products.

(iv) The actual volume of gas obtained was only 60 cm3. Why was the
volume lower than expected?

The reaction is reversible. Not all of the ammonia gas decomposes to

form nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas or Some of the nitrogen gas and
hydrogen gas recombine to form ammonia gas.

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