Ammonia

Oxidation

Dacula, Lopez, Mier

Ammonia
• Ammonia or azane is a compound of nitrogen
and hydrogen with the formula NH3.
• colorless gas with a characteristic pungent smell.
• common nitrogenous waste, particularly among
aquatic organisms
• Precursor to food and fertilizers
• a building block for the synthesis of many
pharmaceutical products and is used in many
commercial cleaning products.
Production of Nitric Acid
• The old process for the manufacture of
HNO3is by the reaction of sulfuric acid
with sodium nitrate.
• 2NaNO3+ H2SO4 →2HNO3+ Na2SO4

• The prominent process for the manufacture

of nitric acid nowadays is the air
oxidation of ammonia.
Air Oxidation
• The principle of the catalytic oxidation of
ammonia to produce nitric oxide has long
been known, and the discovery was in fact
made about 1839 by Kuhlmann
• Kuhlmann passed an air/ammonia mixture
over heated platinum, forming oxides of
nitrogen which produced nitric acid when
absorbed in water.
Air Oxidation
• Ostwald repeated these experiments in
1900, and by 1909 the principle became a
commercial project when a factory started
production in Germany
• Since then many changes have taken place
and many improvements have been made,
the main difference being in the pressure at
which the reactions take place.
 Air Oxidation

A simplifed flow chart of the Fison nitric acid plant.

Air Oxidation
• Compressed air mixed with anhydrous
ammonia is sent through the converter
packed with a Pt-Rh alloy catalyst where
the oxidation of ammonia to NO occurs at
about 1073 K.
Air Oxidation

• Gas containing about 10–12% NO is

mixed with air in the oxidizer-absorber
system to convert NO to NO2 at about
313–323 K. NO2 is absorbed in water
producing HNO3 of 57–60% strength.
Air Oxidation
• The major reactions occurring in the air
oxidation of ammonia process for HNO3
manufacture are as follows:
• 4NH3+ 5O2→4NO + 6H2O
• 2NO + O →2NO2
• 3NO2+ H2O→2HNO3+ NO
• 2NO2→N2O4
2NO + O →2NO2
• Nitric oxide is a colorless gas under standard
conditions, and is one of several oxides of
nitrogen.
• Nitric oxide is a free radical, i.e., its bonding
structure includes an unpaired electron
• A particularly important intermediate in the
chemical industry
• nitric oxide forms in mixtures of nitrogen and
oxygen at high temperatures
2NO2→N2O4
• NO2 is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric
acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year.
• At higher temperatures it is a reddish-brown gas that has
a characteristic sharp, biting odor and is a prominent air
pollutant
• N2O4 a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an
equilibrium mixture with nitrogen dioxide.
• a powerful oxidizer that is hypergolic (spontaneously
reacts) upon contact with various forms of hydrazine,
which makes the pair a popular bipropellant for rockets.
• References:
• Platinum Catalysts in Ammonia Oxidation: Operating
Conditions in Fisons New Nitric Acid Plant.
https://www.technology.matthey.com/article/4/4/122-
126/
• Dinitrogen tetroxide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_tetroxide
• Nitrogen dioxide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide
• Ammonia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonia
• Nitric oxide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_oxide

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