Joshua Campe Sunny Chawla Brandon Hardwicke

Properties of Ammonia

Physical Properties Chemical Properties Structural Properties

Manufacture of Ammonia

History of ammonia manufacturing processes Haber-Bosch process Modern ammonia producing plants Main Uses Secondary Uses Laboratory Uses Environmental Concerns Health Issues

Industrial Uses

Environmental and Health Impacts

Brandon Hardwicke

Property Molecular Mass Colour Odour

Value or Detail 17.03 g/mol Colourless Sharp, Intensely Irritating

Physical State
Melting Point Boiling Point Flash Point Decomposition Point Density (Gas) Density (Liquid) Vapour Density Critical Temperature Critical Pressure Heat of Fusion

Gas (at room temperature)

-77.7C -33.35C 11C 500C 0.7710g/L 0.6818g/L 0.5697 (air has a vapour density of 1) 132.4C 111.3 atm 58.1 kJ/mol

Heat of Vaporization
Heat of Combustion

23.3 kJ/mol
-316 kJ/mol

Property Chemical Formula

Value or Detail NH3

Type of Base
Affinity (Water) Corrosiveness Oxidation Power Reactivity Volatility

Weak
High Corrosive to Some Metals Strong Reducing Agent Quite Reactive Increasing with increases in pH

Ammonia consists of one Nitrogen atom bonded covalently to three Hydrogen atoms, as can be seen in the above diagram. The shape of the molecule can be said to be a triangular pyramid and is dipolar.

Sunny Chawla

Before the start of World War I, most ammonia was obtained by;

the dry distillation of nitrogenous vegetable and animal products, the reduction of nitrous acid and nitrites with hydrogen, and the decomposition of ammonium salts by alkaline hydroxides or by quicklime, the salt most generally used being the chloride (sal-ammoniac).

This involves the direct combination of Nitrogen and Hydrogen. The reaction is reversible, meaning that some ammonia will be formed, but not all will react. The reaction is as follows, N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g) H = -93.6 kJ/mol We find that the forward reaction is exothermic and proceeds with decrease in the number of gaseous moles. Therefore, according to Le-Chateliers Principle, the conditions favourable for the forward processes are :

Low temperature, and High pressure However, at low temperature, the rate of the reaction becomes very slow. Therefore, in practice, the optimum temperature of about 750 K and a pressure of about 2 107 Pa, i.e 200 atmospheres is employed. Since the operating temperature is fairly low (750 K), the rate of reaction is increased by using a catalyst which consists of finely divided iron containing molybdenum as promoter.

A typical modern ammonia-producing plant first converts natural gas (i.e., methane) or LPG (liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and butane) or petroleum naphtha into gaseous hydrogen. The method for producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons is referred to as "steam reforming". The hydrogen is then combined with nitrogen to produce ammonia. The figure on the next slide shows the stages of modern process for formation of ammonia.

Joshua Campe

Fertilizer: Quite a lot of the worlds ammonia is actually being used in the production of fertilizer (almost 85% of all ammonia in the world), but only in either its salt or its solution form. These are Ammonium Nitrate and Ammonium Sulfate. Ammonium Nitrate is NH4NO3, and is used in high-nitrate fertilizers. It is created by the Acid-Base reaction between Ammonia and Nitrate; HNO3(aq) + NH3(g) NH4NO3(aq)

Ammonium Sulfate is (NH4)2SO4 and is used mainly in fertilizer in the reduction of pH of the soil. It is created by Synthetic Ammonia reacting with Sulfuric Acid;
2 NH3 + H2SO4 (NH4)2SO4

Cleaner: Household Ammonia (NH3) or Ammonium Hydroxide is a household cleaning product. It is so popular because it is generally streak free and is used mainly in the cleaning of glass stainless steel and occasionally a stove. It will usually contain 5 to 10% ammonia.

Refrigeration: Ammonia is widely used in the industrial refrigeration of ice hockey rinks and similar applications because of its favourable vaporization products. Lifting gas: At S.T.P ammonia is actually lighter than air and has around 60% of the lifting power of Hydrogen and Helium, it has occasionally been used to lift Hot-Air balloons.

Ammonia is directly or indirectly the precursor to most nitrogencontaining compounds. Virtually all synthetic nitrogen compounds are derived from ammonia. An important derivative is nitric acid. Liquid Ammonia can also be used to dissolve alkali and other electropositive metals. Electropositive metals include Calcium, Strontium and Barium, as well as many others. At a low concentration, usually less than 0.06mol/L, deep blue solutions form containing metal cations and solvated electrons. These solutions are very useful as strong reducing agents. Liquid ammonia is the best-known and most widely studied nonaqueous ionising solvent. Its most conspicuous property is its ability to dissolve alkali metals to form highly coloured, electrically conducting solutions containing solvated electrons. Ammonia can act as a ligand in transition metal complexes. It is a pure -donor, in the middle of the spectrochemical series, and shows intermediate hard-soft behavior.

Joshua Campe

Ammonia is as stated above, a toxic chemical. When spilled on land or in water it can be potentially devastating to the local environment, but methods have been devised for the safe clean up of the ammonia spills. If spilled on land then a pond, pool type structure should be dug to contain the liquid ammonia, and then filled in with sandbags, or possible foamed concrete. If spilled in water it should have dilute acid added to it to negate the effects. The water should not be consumed however.

Ammonia is classified as a Class-2 poison, this means that it is toxic to humans, animals and the environment. Class-1 is very toxic and Class-3 is merely hazardous. Excessive exposure to ammonia can lead to numerous health problems, including but not limited to:

Increase in both blood pressure and the pulse rate An altered mental status (i.e. coma) has been known to occur in extreme circumstances. If ammonia is absorbed in excess, it can result in seizures which occur in increasing frequency and level. It has also led to a decrease in the production of eggs among animals. If ingested swelling of the lips, mouth and esophagus is extremely likely to occur. And the vapors are both irritating and fairly corrosive