The HABER PROCESS is an industrial method for
manufacturing AMMONIA, NH3
The raw materials are NITROGEN from the air
and HYDROGEN from natural gas.
The reaction is reversible N2 + 3H2 2NH3
These GASES are heated to about 400°C,
compressed to about 200 atm of pressure and
passed over an iron catalyst
The yield is only about 16% but the reaction is
fast and the unused gases can be recycled
The gases are cooled, the ammonia CONDENSES
to liquid but the nitrogen and hydrogen remain
as gases.
As this is a reversible reaction a DYNAMIC
EQUILIBRIUM is reached
The Reaction mixture contains reactants and
products
The HIGH PRESSURE favours the forward
reaction because there are LESS MOLES OF GAS
on the right hand side.
The forward reaction is EXOTHERMIC so LOWER
TEMPERATURES favour the forward reaction
If the temperature is TOO LOW the reaction
would be TOO SLOW
The CATALYST has NO EFFECT on the
equilibrium as it speed up both forward and
reverse reactions equally
The HIGH PRESSURE increases the RATE of reaction
At high pressure there are MORE PARTICLES in the same
amount of space.
They COLLIDE MORE FREQUENTLY so there are more
successful collisions
The moderately HIGH TEMPERATURE is high enough to give
a reasonably fast reaction. The particles have MORE ENERGY,
so they MOVE FASTER.
This means that they COLLIDE MORE FREQUENTLY and are
more likely to have ENOUGH ENERGY TO REACT (the
activation energy)
The IRON CATALYST speeds up the reaction allowing a lower
temperature to be used.
These conditions are a COMPROMISE!
The TEMPERATURE is chosen to give a reasonable
rate of reaction BUT without lowering the yield to
much by favouring the reverse reaction
The PRESSURE is high to favour the forward
reaction (increase the yield) and speed up the
reaction BUT very high pressures are expensive to
maintain and can be dangerous
The CATALYST speeds up both forward and reverse
reactions and so does not affect the yield but does
allow a reasonable rate at a lower temperature