THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MATHS & NATURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

ZAWADI M. KAMWELA 13057225

ADVANCED INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (CH 450)
Lecturer: Dr KALEBAILA

ASSIGNMENT 1

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF AMMONIUM NITRATE

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is an odourless, colourless or white, crystal salt produced
exclusively by the reaction of gaseous ammonia and aqueous nitric acid. It was the first solid
nitrogen (N) fertilizer produced on a large scale and thus, is extensively used as a nitrogenous
fertiliser. It has been a common nitrogen source because it contains both nitrate and
ammonium, and has a relatively high nutrient content.
The source of the gaseous ammonia may be produced on site facility from the vaporisation of
liquid ammonia. Similarly, the nitric acid could be from the production facility or made from
purchased nitric acid.
Chemical equation
HNO3(aq) + NH3(g) NH4NO3(aq)
Word equation
Nitric acid + ammonia ammonium nitrate

Considerable heat is generated as a result of formation of the concentrate (80 – 87%)

ammonium nitrate.
There are basically three main unit operations in the industrial production of ammonium
nitrate by this technique; neutralisation, evaporation and solidification (prilling and
granulation).
Neutralisation
Neutralisation is performed by either a single-stage neutralizer or by a two-stage neutralizer.
Ammonia is neutralised so that its pH becomes 3-4 in order to reduce waste. In either case,
anhydrous liquid ammonia is evaporated using cooling water in an evaporator. A two-stage
neutraliser operates in an acidic condition (low pH) in the first stage and in a neutral
condition in the final stage. The equipment can operate at a variety of temperatures and
pressures. An automatic ratio controller introduces the stoichiometric quantities of gaseous
ammonia and nitric acid to a neutralizer. Steam generated from this operation is used by the
evaporator in the next stage. However, there are environmental factors which influence the
choice of neutraliser to be used such as cost of carrying out such a reaction, the amount of
ammonia emitted and impurity control is also important.
Steam purification and condensate treatment are the two other in-stage processes following
neutralisation. Ideally, the two processes are especially useful in order to achieve the best
available technique.
Evaporation and Solidification (granulation)
The ammonium nitrate solution from the neutraliser has a concentration dependant on the
feed stock and the operating conditions. The solution has a 95 – 99% concentration. Unless it
is to be used in the manufacture of solid ammonium nitrate or other fertilisers, the concentrate
may be stored without any further processing.
After vacuum evaporation or falling film evaporation, the concentrated ammonium nitrate
solution (95 – 99%) falls from a tower and forms solid fertiliser prills. The high-density prills
with less porosity are used for fertiliser and the low-density prills are more porous and
preferred for industrial use. Granulation is achieved by repeatedly spraying the concentrated
solution onto small granules in a rotating drum. The ammonium nitrate product is
hygroscopic and readily attracts moisture from the atmosphere, it is usually stored in air-
conditioned warehouses or in sealed bags.
Diagram 1.

A schematic representation of the processes involved in ammonium nitrate production.

Process 1: Fractional Distillation (source of nitrogen gas)
Process 2: Haber process
Compound Y: Ammonia
Compound X: Nitric Acid
References
1. European Fertiliser Manufacturers Association, 2000, pp. 6-8
2. International Plant Nutrition Institute, URL: > www.ipni.net/specifics
3. Paleczny, 2015.