How is ammonia made?
The formula for ammonia is NH3, and it’s manufacture is called the Haber Process. The two reagents that make it up are Nitrogen and Hydrogen and the equation for the reaction is: N2 + 3H2 –> 2NH3 The reaction is reversible and is an exothermic reaction going forwards (lets out heat when ammonia is made). The optimal conditions are 400-450 degrees Celcius and about 200 atmospheres, with an iron catalyst used.The catalyst has no effect on the amount of product produced (it speeds up the forward reaction and backward reaction equally) but means that the reaction will be speeded up. There is a comprimise made between reaction rate and yield of ammonia – a low temperature favours a high yield as the forward reaction is exothermic, but the reaction would be slow. The yield at these conditions is only about 15% (only 15% of the nitrogen and hydrogen convert to ammonia) so the unreacted gases get recycled back in the reaction to be used again. Using this method the overall conversion is about
