Haylee Stiffler

Haber-Bosch Process: Food or Foe

The Haber-Bosch process is a way to produce ammonia on a large scale, which can

be used for a variety of things, including making explosives, dyes, cleaning products,

textiles, and fertilizers (Energy Changes). This process created a sustainable way for

ammonia to be created, giving more access to people around the world, and replacing the

way people had previously attained nitrates, a main component of ammonia, from the

Chilean deserts. While natural, this option was not sustainable, and by the late 1800s the

supply of nitrogen was decreasing and was reaching the point where it would not be able to

support the growing world population (The Rise and Fall). The creation of the Haber-Bosch

process was intended to solve this problem by finding a way to create ammonia to be used

as fertilizer, which is exactly what it did. However, nitrogen fertilizer comes with its own

environmental problems, due to using large amounts of fertilizers on industrial farms in

order for more crops to grow, causing the nutrients and pollutants from the fertilizer to

harm the water and air around the world. There has also been concern about if the ability

to produce ammonia on a large scale is beneficial, due to its application in war technology,

as well as concerns about the effect of ammonia fertilizers on the human body.

The synthesis of ammonia through the Haber-Bosch process is shown using the

chemical equation:

N2 + 3H2  2NH3

This is a fairly simple equation when you just look at it; however, in order to it to take

place, first, the nitrogen-nitrogen bond must be broken in order to allow for the hydrogen
atoms to bind to the nitrogen, creating ammonia. N2 has a very strong bond within itself

because nitrogen is able to from a triple bond with another nitrogen atom, allowing the

nitrogen atoms to form a full valence shell, therefore causing them to be very stable.

Because of this stability, the reaction rate of ammonia is very slow. In order to speed up

this reaction, Fritz Haber used a high pressure and temperature, along with a catalyst. The

specific conditions that Haber used to get the best results are a pressure of 100 atm, a

temperature of 723 K, and an osmium or uranium catalyst (Ammonia Synthesis). This is

the first time that ammonia had been successfully synthesized; however, due to the cost

and lack of availability of his chosen catalysts, it was not yet able to be manufactured on an

industrial scale. Carl Bosch was able to improve on Haber’s work by experimenting with

different catalysts, which would be more accessible and less expensive, allowing them to be

used on a large scale. In doing so, Bosch not only discovered better suiting catalysts for

synthesizing ammonia, but discovered an entirely new type of catalyst.

Bosch experimented with using mixtures as catalysts, and in doing so discovered

that they would work better than the elements in their purse states. For the formation of

ammonia, he found that iron based and molybdenum based catalysts worked the best (High

Pressure Method). Catalysts made of mixtures, and all catalysts, work by increasing the rate

of a reaction by lowering the activation energy of the reaction.

Bosch also improved the process of ammonia synthesis by making changes to the

apparatus used. The only technique up until that point that that would work was Linde’s

process, which would not work for the Haber-Bosch process, as the Linde process was not

suitable for high temperatures due to the conventional apparatus being made up of soft

soldered copper, which would be destroyed at high pressure and temperatures. (High
Pressure Method). To improve on this method, Bosch created an apparatus that consisted

of thick steel, pressure-bearing lining, with a thin lining of soft steel. This method would

allow the hydrogen to pass through the thin lining and out of the system, preventing a

pressure buildup, which would damage the outer lining of thick steel (High Pressure

Method).

A current problem with the Haber-Bosch process is how much energy it consumes.

Depending on the technology used in each individual plant, the synthesis of ammonia

occurs with a temperature of 700-900 K and 200-400 atm, which requires a lot of energy to

maintain, to the point where ammonia synthesis worldwide accounts for one-two percent

of all energy generated by humans (The Haber Process Made Efficient). In order to help fix

this problem, researchers Vitaly V. Chaban and Oleg V. Prezhdo, ran tests where they

included hydroxylated graphene quantum dots, known as GQD. In doing so, they found that

while G at 800 K and 100 atm, around where it would be in a plant setting, without the

hydroxylated GQD was equal to +35.7 kJ mol-1, it decreased to -29.1 kJ mol-1 with their

addition, also lowering the equilibrium constant (The Haber Process Made Efficient).

Additionally, Chaban and Prezhdo also found that they would increase ammonia

production by up to 9% when the temperature was increased to 1500 K and the density

was 710 kg m-3, when this finding is used along with the hydroxylated GQDs, it also for

more ammonia to be created using less energy (The Haber Process Made Efficient).

The most well-known use of ammonia is in cleaning products, because it’s good at

breaking down grime and evaporates quickly making it ideal for avoiding streaks. While

ammonia can be dangerous when ingested, inhaled, or when it comes into contacting with

skin, as long as it’s being used in a well-ventilated area, proper clothing and protection is
worn, and it’s not being mixed with other chemicals, such as bleach, household ammonia is

harmless, because it only contains five to ten percent ammonia (Ammonia Refrigeration).

Ammonia naturally occurs in the environment, so people are regularly exposed to low

levels, but being exposed to high levels or can cause skin, eye, and lung irritation

(Ammonia).

While not as well known, ammonia’s most common use is in fertilizer, with around

90% of produced ammonia being used for it (Ammonia). As mentioned earlier, prior to the

Haber-Bosch process, sodium nitrate, two thirds of which was provided by Chile (The Rise

and Fall). This method of mining worked; however, it was not sustainable, and by 1898 Sir

William Crookes, a British chemist who become president of the British Association for the

Advancement of Science, said that, “It is the chemist who must come to the rescue, it is

through the laboratory that starvation may ultimately be turned to plenty.” (Capturing

Nitrogen). This warning was due to the world running out of sodium, and facing the

potential of not having any fertilizers for crops, and therefore not being able to have

enough food to sustain the world population. Recently people have become concerned

about ammonia being used as a fertilizer, thinking that it may be harmful to the human

body and produce negative side effects. Ammonia is used because it includes a lot of

nitrogen, which is necessary for crop production (Redesigning Agriculture). Ammonia as a

fertilizer is not harmful, because when used the plants only absorb the nitrogen, which

occurs naturally in the atmosphere and poses no danger to humans (The Nitrogen Fix).

Using ammonia as a fertilizer is not harmful to the human body when it’s not in direct

contact, however, ammonia is very dangerous as a gas when humans are in direct contact.

Because of this, plants that produce ammonia must take safety precautions. When these
safety procedures aren’t properly followed, people can die, as seen when a worker at Stavis

Seafoods died after he and four other employees smelt ammonia. In this situation, there

was an ammonia leak, and when an emergency switch was pulled, the ammonia didn’t shut

off (OSHA Begins Probe). This situation shouldn’t have happened, and if the company had

complied with regulations concerning ammonia, it wouldn’t have happened. Refrigerant

grade ammonia, what was being used in Stavis Seafoods, contains at least 99.95% pure

ammonia, and if stored improperly, can be deadly (Ammonia Refrigeration).

Ammonia can also be used to create gunpowder and explosives, starting in World

War I, countries, namely Germany, had access to more explosives due to the Haber-Bosch

process. Prior to its creation, Germany was consuming around one third of all sodium

nitrate consumption (The Rise and Fall), in order to create weapons. As previously

mentioned, this bulk of sodium nitrate came from Chile, in order to prevent Germany from

having access to sodium nitrate, a naval blockade was formed blocking Germany from

entering Chile. This should have caused World War I to end very soon after, in 1916, but

the Haber-Bosch process was created, giving Germany access to nitrates that could be used

for explosives. The Haber-Bosch process is often considered to be the reason that World

War I continued for three more years (Ammonia Affects History).

Liquid ammonia can be used to treat cellulosic fibers in order to make fabrics for a

variety of different clothes. This includes, cotton, linin, hemp, denim, polyester, and many

other types of fabrics (Practical Aspects). So practically all clothes that we wear today have

been treated with ammonia. This is done in order to make these fabrics more resistant to

tears and other abrasions, and is slightly more successful than NaOH mercerization, which

is the other common way to strengthen fabrics.

 Ammonia is also a common ingredient in permanent hair dyes, which can also be

known as “oxidation”, because a chemical that is an oxidizer, usually hydrogen peroxide, is

mixed with the ammonia and the color before it’s applied to the hair (A Brief Guide to Hair

Dye). Ammonia can be damaging to your hair because it enters the hair cuticle in order to

make the color last longer, which comes with the negative consequences of dry, brittle, and

generally unhealthy hair (The Dangerous Effects). Because of this, many people opt to used

ammonia-free hair dye, which replaces ammonia with monoethanolamine (A Brief Guide to

Hair Dye).

The Haber-Bosch process ended up having a large impact on world population as

well. Since the creation of the Haber-Bosch process, the population has grown from around

1.6 billion, to 7.5 billion (World Population by Year). This number would likely be

significantly smaller without the Haber-Bosch process to ensure that fertilizers could be

created on an industrial scale, which could then be used on an industrial scale for food

production. Without the Haber-Bosch process, the world likely would have run out of

natural nitrates soon after the start of World War I, causing less food to be produced, and

therefore, a smaller world population than what we currently have.

Today, the Haber-Bosch process is still a widely used way to synthesize ammonia;

however, scientists are constantly working to improve it or come up with entirely new

solutions for creating nitrates. A huge problem with the Haber-Bosch process is the

pollution it causes. Ammonia fertilizer has been attributed to creating a dead zone in the

Gulf of Mexico, which harms the ecosystem in place there and the fishing industry, as well

as damaging the Great Barrier Reef (Redesigning Agriculture). This happens because of

fertilizer run off from the farms, into rivers, and into larger bodies of water, which harms
marine life, and industries that depend on it. Because of this damage to the environment,

the Haber-Bosch process will likely be replaced with something more ecofriendly in the

future, using a chemical that won’t hurt the environment, but for now, the Haber-Bosch

process is the best option for the mass production of fertilizers.

The Haber-Bosch process is a great example of how science can be used for both

good and evil purposes. The synthesis of ammonia allowed for an increase in food

production, which prevented mass starvation, but it also allowed for a new way to create

explosives, and can be every life lost in World War I after 1916 can be directly attributed to

the Haber-Bosch process allowing Germany to continue to fight in the war. This is not the

only scientific discovery that has a good and evil side, for example, opioids are both good

and evil. When used properly and prescribed by a physician, opioids can help immensely

with pain management. But when abused, these drugs can very quickly become something

evil and can take over the life of addicts, usually causing them to die in the process.

The Binet-Simon scale is another example of science that was intended to be good,

being used for evil purposes. The Binet-Simon scale, which would later become the IQ test,

was intended to measure the intelligence of children so that they could be classified and

they could be placed in a classroom better suited to their needs (Psychological Testing).

This science was then turned evil when Henry Herbert Goddard used it to test immigrants

at Ellis Island in 1913 (The Birth of American Intelligence Testing). Goddard would then

use his findings to promote racism within the United States. Goddard was the first

researcher to use intelligence tests in a court of law, and also created the term moron (The

Birth of American Intelligence Testing). Goddard felt that “morons”, people who scored

lower on intelligence tests, were a danger to society and more likely to exhibit criminal
behavior. Being labeled as a moron could have you deported, sent to an insane asylum, or

sterilized (It Took a Eugenicist). Goddard used the Binet-Simon test, which was intended to

test children only, to test immigrants at Ellis Island, and if they did not test well they faced

the previously mentioned consequences of being labeled as a moron.

The internet is modern example of good science being used for evil purposes. On the

internet people have access to hundreds of thousands of websites ranging from useful

information, socialization, humor, shopping, and entertainment. The bulk of people use the

internet to connect, share ideas, and make life simpler. Generally speaking, these are all

good things. However, there’s a section of the internet which includes a lot of awful things,

including human trafficking, child pornography, murder, and drug trafficking. The most

well-known of these would be the Silk Road, a website which was previously used to buy

and sell drugs online anonymously. Due to its illegal nature, it has been shut down, but it’s

not the last website of its kind to exist, and as long as the internet is available, people will

use it for evil.

Airplanes are another invention that started off with good intentions, and is still

widely used for good. The purpose of airplanes was to allow for a faster, more efficient,

form of global transformation. This was its only purpose for a very long time, until the 9/11

terrorist attacks, where airplanes were used for evil. The possibility of this happening

again has been stopped due to increased airport security, and overall airplanes are still an

invention widely used for good.

The Haber-Bosch process had an astounding effect on the world, it’s attributed to

the population increase of 6 billion since its creation, has improved the amount of food that

can be produced, and allows for more durable fabrics. While it does have negative
consequences, such as the continuation of World War I and environmental repercussions, it

has benefitted humanity immensely. We know that using ammonia as a fertilizer will not

harm you if you consume the foods that were grown with it, the cleaning product is only

harmful if misused, it improves our fabrics without harming the wearer. Hair dye is only

slightly damaging, and explosives will always be harmful, but thankfully the average person

is not using them. The positive applications of ammonia seem to outweigh the negatives,

and while there are negative environmental consequences of the Haber-Bosch process, it’s

currently the best option for synthesizing nitrates, and the pros far outweigh the cons.
 Works Cited

“Ammonia Refrigeration - Properties of Ammonia.” Occupational Safety and Health

Administration, www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ammonia_refrigeration/ammonia/.

Benjamin, Ludt T. “The Birth of American intelligence testing.” Monitor on Psychology,

American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/monitor/2009/01/assessment.aspx.

Boody, George, and Brian DeVore. “Redesigning Agriculture.” BioScience, Oct. 2006.

Bosch, Carl. “The development of the chemical high-pressure method during the establishment

of the new ammonia industry.” Nobel Lecture. Nobel Lecture, 21 May 1932,

www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1931/bosch-lecture.pdf.

Chaban, Vitaly V, and Oleg V Prezhdo. “Haber Process Made Efficient by Hydroxylated

Graphene: Ab Initio Thermochemistry and Reactive Molecular Dynamics.” ACS Publications,

24 June 2016, pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b01178.

“Energy Changes and Reversible Reactions.” BBC, BBC,

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_aqa_pre_2011/chemreac/energychange

srev3.shtml.

Haber, Fritz. “The Synthesis of Ammonia from Its Elements.” Nobel Lecture. Nobel Lecture, 2

June 1920,

pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4e58/01d167653e3e726fcdca5589f794deb7050c.pdf.

Kiefer, David M. “Capturing Nitrogen Out of the Air.” Chemistry Chronicles,

pubs.acs.org/subscribe/archive/tcaw/10/i02/html/02chemch.html.

McCabe, Kathy, and John R Ellement. “OSHA Begins Probe of Seafood Workers Death after

Ammonia Leak.” The Boston Globe (Boston, MA), 24 Mar. 2016,

 www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/24/search-underway-for-cause-fatal-ammonia-

leak-south-boston-fish-warehouse/RXnsiu1fzef9r18RSUflGI/story.html.

Oliver, Dana. “A Brief Guide to Hair Dye: Semi-Permanent vs. Permanent vs. Bleach.” The

Huffington Post, 5 Nov. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/hair-dye-types-

treatment-tips_n_4193049.html.

Pearce, Fred. “The Nitrogen Fix: Breaking a Costly Addiction.” Yale E360, 5 Nov. 2009,

e360.yale.edu/features/the_nitrogen_fix_breaking_a_costly_addiction.

“Stanford-Binet IQ Test.” Psychological Testing,

www.gulfbend.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=8218&cn=18.

Straley, JoElla. “It Took a Eugenicist To Come Up With 'Moron'.” NPR, 10 Feb. 2014,

www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/02/10/267561895/it-took-a-eugenicist-to-

come-up-with-moron.

“The Dangerous Effects of Ammonia in Hair Color | Avant Gard.” Avant Gard RSS, 16 Apr. 2014,

avantgardtheschool.com/?p=404.

Wisniak, Jaime, and Ingrid Garces. “The Rise and Fall of the Saltire (Sodium Nitrate)

Industry.” Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, vol. 8, Sept. 2008, pp. 427–438.

“World Population by Year.” World Population by Year - Worldometers,

www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/.

I decided to use the OSHA “Ammonia Refrigeration” article because it came from a government

website with the purpose of sharing information about the proper storage of ammonia, the

BioScience Magazine article, “Redesigning Agriculture”, because it came from a published

magazine, which is a peer review scientific journal, and the article by the Boston Globe about

the seafood workers death, because that article relayed facts on an incident that happened.

I did not use the US Weekly article about Michelle Duggar not believing in overpopulation,

because it was just repeating what Michelle Duggar said, and she has no education past high

school and had never worked in the sciences. I did not use the Morgan Freeman article for

similar reasons, because he also does not have a degree or experience in the sciences. I also

did not use the Cleaning Lady blog post, because it was made on Blogspot, which can be used

by anyone, and there was no name attached to the post.