Ammonia and Sulphur

Salaam (May God Bless You). Ammonia and sulphur are two one of the most important materials found on the earth and are produced and used worldwide. Ammonia is important due to the amount of nitrogen it contains which is precious for crops that provide food to the growing human population. Sulphur is a material used for various processes such as it is used as the electrolyte in a car battery.

Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical produced by combining together nitrogen and hydrogen. This reaction is reversible which is we must consider the position of the dynamic equilibrium and the factors which affect the position. The forward reaction is exothermic so the temperature should be low and the pressure must be high to produce highest yield. This is a problem since the machines used to raise pressure are expensive and the low temperature slows down the rate of reaction. The rate of reaction is increased by adding an iron catalysts. The catalysts lower the need of activation energy and thus fasten the process. To further maximise its output, the Haber process is used. In this process the reactants flow to a reactor where they are combined together and then flow to a condenser where the ammonia formed is condensed out while the unreacted nitrogen and hydrogen flow back into the reactor which results in a higher yield.

Sulphur

Sulphur was founded by the famous Muslim Chemist and Alchemist Jabir Ibne Hayyan (also known as Geber) in the eight century. Sulphur is used to make sulphuric acid which is an important product. It is made by the Contact process. In this process the sulphur is first mixed with air to react with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide. The sulphur dioxide is then mixed with more oxygen to form sulphur trioxide. This reaction is reversible and exothermic which is why there is a need to raise the pressure (just a little in this case) and to lower the temperature. A reactor is used which has almost 4 bases coated with the catalyst vanadium oxide. The sulphur dioxide gas is pumped through the reactor which cools down by the first 2 bases and then is oxidised by the 3rd and 4rth base. The sulphur trioxide is then mixed with sulphuric acid to form an oleum which is then mixed with a few amounts of water to form a more concentrated sulphuric acid solution. To form a dilute solution a few amounts of oleum is mixed with a large amount of water along with stirring. We use small quantities of either materials because the reaction between sulphuric acid and water is so exothermic that the water and sulphur dioxide bubbles up and spread water out of the containers making the process dangerous.