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The Haber Process The Haber process is used to make ammonia NH3 Uses of ammonia include: Making fertilisers

s Making nitric acid Making nylon The equation for the reaction is: N2 + 3H2 2NH3 H = -92 kJ mol-1

The forward reaction would be favoured by a low temperature because the forward reaction is exothermic (so lowering the temperature would cause the reaction to make more NH3 to heat things up abit more). 450C isnt a low temperature. It is however, a compromise temperature, because if the temperature was made to be low, the reaction would be so slow that it would take a very long time to produce much ammonia. Pressure is also another compromised. Because the forward reaction has less molecules than the back reaction (2 molecules of NH3 as opposed to 1 N2 and 3 H2 molecules), the forward reaction would be

favoured by a high pressure. 200 atm is high, but anything higher would be extremely expensive. The iron catalyst speeds the reaction up but has no effect on the equilibrium. However, if the catalyst wasnt used, the reaction would be too slow.

The Contact Process 1. Burn sulphur in air to form sulphur dioxide SO2 S + O2 SO2 2. Use an excess of air to react sulphur dioxide to more oxygen to form sulphur trioxide 2SO2 + O2 2SO3 -196 kJ mol-1 H =

3. Reacting sulphur trioxide with water will give an uncontrollable fog of concentrated sulphuric acid. Instead, sulphur trioxide is absorbed in concentrated sulphuric acid to give fuming sulphuric acid (oleum): SO3 + H2SO4 H2S2O7 4. This is converted into twice as much concentrated sulphuric acid by careful addition of water: H2S2O7 + H2O 2H2SO4

The reversible reaction here is: 2SO2 + O2 2SO3 H = -196 kJ mol-1

Because the forward reaction is exothermic, a low temperature has to be used. Again, if a low temperature is used, the rate of reaction would be too slow, so 450C is a compromise. As for the pressure, a low pressure is needed because the forward reaction contains fewer molecules than the back reaction. The catalyst, vanadium (V) oxide (V2O5) speeds up the rate of reaction but has no effect on the equilibrium. Again, without a catalyst, the rate of reaction would be extremely slow.

Uses of sulphuric acid include: Making fertilisers including ammonium sulphate and other substances Detergents including hand soaps and shampoos Paint Manufacture used to extract titanium dioxide from titanium ores Tests for Gases
Gas Test Hydrogen Hold a lit splint in presence of hydrogen gas. Oxygen Hold a glowing splint in presence of oxygen gas. Carbon Bubble through limewater. Dioxide Ammonia Hold damp red litmus paper in ammonia gas. Chlorine Hold damp blue litmus paper in chlorine gas. Result Produces a squeaky pop. Glowing splint relights. Turns limewater from colourless to cloudy, milky white. Turns damp red litmus paper blue. Bleaches or turns blue litmus paper white.

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