Ammonia

Importance
Ammonia is an important chemical in industry and agriculture. Most of it is used for manufacturing fertilizers and nitric acid. fertilizers 80% nitric acid 5% nylon 5 % other uses 8%

other uses, 8%
nylon, 7% nitric acid , 5%

fertilizers, 80%

Properties of ammonia
a gas at room temperature colourless pungent smelling less dense than air very soluble in water(forms alkaline solution of ammonium hydroxide, NH4OH) is a weak base turns red litmus blue.

Making ammonia in the lab

From ammonium salts ammonium salt + alkali -------- ammonia gas + salt + water 2NH4Cl + Ca(OH)2 --------- 2NH3 + CaCl2 + 2H2O

Test for ammonia

From its pungent smell. Turns red litmus paper blue. Reacts with hydrogen chloride gas to form dense white fumes (tiny particles of solid ammonium chloride suspended ion the air) NH3 (g) + HCl (g) -------- NH4Cl(s) This reaction is a neutralization reaction.

Industrial method to manufacture ammonia: THE HABER PROCESS

The Haber process was developed in 1908 by the German chemist, Fritz Haber to meet the food demands of the growing population at that time. More and more crops were needed to feed more and more people. So farmers had to use nitrogen containing compounds as fertilizers.

 In 1904, Haber began studying the reactions between nitrogen and hydrogen. By 1908, he had found the conditions needed to make ammonia. Eventually the Haber process became the most important method of manufacturing ammonia.

Dynamic equilibrium and industry

Many important reactions in industry are reversible. The reaction between nitrogen and hydrogen to make ammonia is one of them. N2(g) + H2 (g) NH3(g) The reaction is reversible and exothermic. A mixture of the two gases will never react completely. So yield will never be 100%.

 The reaction reaches dynamic equilibrium. The rate of reaction in the forward direction is same as the rate of reaction in the reverse direction- reactants are constantly being converted to products and at the same time products are constantly converted to reactants. The level of ammonia remains unchanged.

 We must have a closed system to achieve dynamic equilibrium. When we view a system at equilibrium , we are not aware that constant change is taking place at the molecular or ionic level. From our view point a system looks static.

 Once dynamic equilibrium is achieved , the properties that we can see or measure easily like temperature, pressure, concentration , mass or volume remain constant.

How to increase the yield of ammonia?

Using Le Chateliers principle When a reversible reaction is in equilibrium and you make a change , it will do what it can do oppose that change. Factors affecting the rate of reaction are temperature, concentration of reactants and pressure(for gaseous reactants).

Effect of temperature on the position of equilibrium

The position of the equilibrium shifts towards the reactants: more nitrogen and hydrogen are formed. So level of ammonia decreases which is not good. If the reaction is carried out a very low temperature, more ammonia will form. But then the reaction will take too long to reach equilibrium. A slow reaction is not a good idea.

Exothermic reactions
Temperature increase shifts equilibrium position towards reactants. Temperature decrease shifts equilibrium position towards products.

Endothermic process
Temperature increase shifts equilibrium position towards products. Temperature decrease shifts equilibrium position towards reactants.

Effect of changes in concentration on the equilibrium position

Ammonia is easily liquefiable unlike nitrogen and hydrogen. So if we cool the equilibrium mixture of nitrogen ,hydrogen and ammonia, ammonia condenses first and separates out. The position of equilibrium is disturbed. The system readjusts to restore equilibrium . The position of the equilibrium shifts towards the formation of ammonia. The concentration of nitrogen and hydrogen fall until a new equilibrium position is established.

Effect of pressure on the position of equilibrium

When the pressure is increased, the equilibrium shifts to minimize this increase i.e to reduce the overall pressure. Pressure is caused by the molecules colliding with the walls of the container. So more the molecules present, higher the pressure. Therefore, there must be fewer molecules present to reduce the pressure. This can only happen if nitrogen and hydrogen react to make more molecules of ammonia.

 The position of equilibrium shifts towards products with increase in pressure. The position of equilibrium shifts towards reactants with decrease in pressure.

Effect of catalyst on equilibrium

Iron catalyst is used in the Haber process. A catalyst increases the rate of the forward reaction and backward reaction equally which means equilibrium is established more quickly. but the catalyst does not change the equilibrium concentration of reactants and products. So the amount of ammonia does not change.

Key points
Nitrogen will not react with hydrogen at room temperature and pressure. To get as much ammonia as possible, the conditions used in the Haber process are 200 atm pressure , a temperature of 4500C and an iron catalyst . A compromise temperature is used which gives quite a good yield at a fast enough rate of reaction.

Why do we need Fertilizers?

In addition to carbon dioxide, light water , plants need essential elements (nutrients ) from the soil to grow well. The most important elements for plant growth are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. As plants grow they absorb the minerals they need. If the plant dies and decomposes in the field it grew in, then the elements are replaced in the soil.

 Air is 78% nitrogen. So the obvious source of nitrogen is air. At the same time, nitrogen is unreactive and cannot be used directly in the gaseous form by most plants. Atmospheric nitrogen is converted to nitrates by bacteria in the roots of leguminous plants such as peas and beans.

 How could this unreactive gas be converted to ammonium salts and nitrates for use as fertilizers? Unlike nitrogen, ammonia is a reactive gas readily soluble in water , can be readily converted to ammonium salts.

 On a farm, this natural cycle is broken. When crops are harvested, they take with them minerals that contain essential elements from the soil. Thats why farmers need to add fertilizers to make the soil fertile. Animal manure is a natural fertilizer. But only a limited amount of this available.

 So artificial fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are added to the soil to replace the essential plant nutrients that have been lost. These fertilizers are called NPK fertilizers after the symbols for these three elements. A typical compound fertilizer may contain ammonium nitrate , ammonium phosphate and potassium chloride.

 A single fertilizer does not contain potassium and phosphorous. e.g. ammonium nitrate

 Ammonia itself can be used as a fertilizer on acidic soils by pumping it directly into the ground. Ammonia can be converted to ammonium nitrate(nitram) , NH4NO3 , ammonium sulphate, (NH4)2SO4 or urea , NH2CONH2 , each of which is used as a fertilizer. Each is made by an acid base reaction. KCl is mined.

 NH3(g) + HNO3(aq) -------- NH4NO3 (aq) NH3(g) + H2SO4(aq) -------- (NH4)2SO4 (aq) NH3(g) + CO2(g) ------- NH2CONH2(s) + H2O(l)

Disadvantages of fertilizers
Although fertilizers are important in providing an adequate supply of food ,problems are caused by their overuse. Since fertilizers are soluble, they get washed away by rain and find their way into rivers. River plants and algae grow quickly and when they die, bacteria thrive as they feed on them; use up all the oxygen dissolved in water. So fish die.

 Blue baby syndrome newborn babys blood is starved of oxygen; skin takes a blue tinge; caused by nitrates in drinking water. Nitrates combine with haemoglobin in the blood and prevents oxygen from being carried by blood around the body. Water companies are trying to remove the nitrates .However, some people are still getting water with more nitrates than they should.