Nitrogen & Fertilizers Flashcards
Fertilizers
N - Nitrogen: chlorophyll & healthy leaves
K - Potassium: growth, fruit & flowers
P - Phosphorus: roots
Common fertilizers compounds
- Ammonium Nitrate: NH4NO3
- Ammonium Phosphate: (NH4)3PO4
- Potassium Sulfate: K2SO4
Displacement of ammonia from its salt
- Reaction with any akali substance
Ammonium salt + strong akali -> salt + water + ammonia
E.g Calcium Hydroxide + Ammonium Chloride -> Calcium Chloride + Ammonia + Water
Materials & Conditions for Haber process
Materials:
Nitrogen - air
Hydrogen - natural gases
Conditions:
Temp: 450C
Pressure: 200 atm
Catalyst: iron
Haber Process
Step 1: H2 & N2 pumped into compressor & compressed to 200 atm
Step 2: Pressurized gases are pumped into a tank with catalytic iron beds at a temp of 450C, some N2 & H2 react to form ammonia
Step 3: Ammonia & unreacted gases pumped into cooling tank, ammonia liquedifies & moves to pressurized storage vessels
Stage 4: Unreacted gases recycled
Haber Process conditions explanation
- Pressure increase, yield increase
- Temperature decrease, yield increase
450C: Lower temp, more yield as it favors the exothermic forward reaction but very slow, so 450C to sacrifice yield for speed
200 atm: Higher pressure, more yield as it tries to decrease the pressure by creating less molecules of gaseous product, so higher yield made but high pressure very dangerous & expensive so compromise yield for safety & cost
Iron catalyst: Reach equilibrium faster, allows for good yield at low temp by lowering activation energy