Preparation of Ammonia Gas

Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3.

Salts of ammonia have been known from very early times. .As early as the thirteenth century, ammonia was known to the alchemists.In 1909, Fintz Haber and Carl Bosch developed a method of producing ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen called the Haber process or the Haber-Bosch process.

Ammonia is a colorless gas with a pungent odour. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and is corrosive to some materials.

Ammonia is essential for many biological processes and serves as a precursor for amino acid and nucleotide synthesis.

Manufacture of ammonia by Haber’s process

The manufacture of ammonia by Haber’s process involves the direct combination of N2and H2.

Nitrogen is obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air

Properties and test of Ammonia

Ammonia has molecular formula NH3 and molecular mass of 17.  It occurs in a free state in air and traces of water. In combined state, it occurs in ammonium chloride, ammonium sulphate etc.

Ammonia or azane is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is a gas at room temperature and has a sharp, pungent odour. A solution of ammonia is alkaline and commonly used in the kitchen as a cleansing agent because it has an ability to dissolve grease. Most of the ammonia manufactured is converted into fertilizers like ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate. These provide nitrogen to the soil.

We will learn about them in detail in this chapter.