Ammonia Synthesis Lab Report

In the early days of alchemy, many scholars doubted the authenticity and credibility of alchemy as a scholarly field of study. They labeled it as “mystical” and challenged greatly the possibilities of alchemical transmutations and any practitioner’s credibility. However, alchemy was still practiced and discussed in all levels of society. Alchemy has been discovered in recent times to have been central to the development of early modern science and medicine. The practice of alchemy has made many contributions to the development of modern chemical medicines.

Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), is classified as a salt. The salt family of chemicals contains ions, which are particles with electrical charges. Due to the fact that opposite polarity ions attract each other, they form a solid crystal that is called salt. This when seen by the naked eye seem like a simple reaction. Bu, in reality this occurs in two different steps and each step a change of energy takes place.

Use: Fogging of cheese production area during off hours to inhibit the growth of unwanted molds and bacteria.

It is not “naturally occurring” and it is not composed of only ammonia, phosphorus and hydrogen sulfide” (Hunter-Burch, 2005, n.d.).

Timberlake, K. C. (01/2014). Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry, 12th Edition.

Olmsted, John III; Williams, Greg; Burk, Robert C. Chemistry, 1st Canadian ed.; John Wiley and Sons Ltd: Mississauga, Canada, 2010, pp 399 - 406

Ammonia and Amonium (NH3- and NH4+) are produced within the body and are highly toxic, especially to the brain and very reactive and so our bodies need a way of quickly processing this into a form for excretion, it does this by converting

This chemical reaction was discovered in 1828 by Friedrich Wohler in an attempt to synthesize ammonium cyanate. It is considered the starting point of modern organic chemistry. Wohler wanted to prove, contrary to scientific thinking of the time, that a product of the living processes of animals could be made in the laboratory from inorganic materials. The synthesis was almost an accident, as Wohler had been trying to make another compound, ammonium cyanate, to continue a study of cyanates he had been working on for the previous few years. When he added silver cyanate to ammonium chloride solution he obtained a white crystalline material, which proved identical to urea obtained from urine.

From 300 B.C. to 300 A.D., alchemy started its voyage to chemistry. During this era, alchemists used more of a scientific approach to try to transform certain metals into gold and to create an elixir of life that could cure all illnesses and stop old age. Unfortunately, they did not reach their goal, but they did advance the knowledge of matter. Later in the 1500’s to 1600’s Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle made discoveries that completely changed the way the world viewed the study of matter. Isaac Newton studied gases and came to the conclusion that atoms are always in motion. Robert Boyle was the first to transform alchemy to an actual science involving measurement called “chemical analysis”. Through his studies, he discovered Boyle’s Law, stating

A Scottish Physician named, Daniel Rutherford discovered nitrogen in 1772. The word nitrogen comes from the Greek words "nitron genes" which means "nitre" and "forming" the Latin word "nitrum" (nitre is the common name for potassium nitrate).

A catalytic route to ammonia from dinitrogen has been one of the most intensively researched areas of chemistry in the last 50 years. Nitrogen gas constitutes 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, and is easily accessed through the fractional distillation of air. Despite this enormous potential for use as a chemical feedstock to synthesize ammonia, the inert nature of elemental nitrogen makes it extremely difficult for most practical purposes. Currently, ammonia is synthesized via the Haber-Bosch process, which uses nitrogen, hydrogen, and an iron catalyst at an excess of 200 °C and 300 atm. The enormous energy demands of this process consume approximately 2% of the world’s annual energy supply. Despite this high cost, the Haber-Bosch process has been invaluable as a chemical process over the last century because it has solely allowed the agricultural industry to keep up with the rising food demand of the modern world by enabling the large scale production of nitrogen based fertilizers. Still, a more efficient route to ammonia would remove a huge burden from the worlds energy supply.

It is one of the most commonly produced industrial chemicals in America. It is used for industrial environments and exists naturally in humans and nature. Ammonia is also used for many biological purposes and a precursor for amino acids and nucleotide synthesis. In nature, it is part of the nitrogen cycle and is produced in soil to release bacteria. Ammonia is produced in plants, animals and waste from animals. It is known as anhydrous ammonia in pure form and it absorbs moisture. It also easily dissolves in water a weak base called ammonium hydroxide. It is easily compressed that it forms a clear liquid when it’s under pressure and is usually shipped as a compressed liquid in steel based containers. Although it is not flammable, containers of ammonia can explode when it’s exposed to too much heat. Ammonia can also be used for agriculture, refrigerant gas, plastics, explosives, textiles, pesticides, dyes, and household cleaning. Ammonia interacts immediately to moisture in the skin, eyes, oral cavity, respiratory tract, and mucous surfaces to form ammonium hydroxide. It destroys cells by causing the necrosis of tissues by disrupting the cell membranes. Water gets extracted while cells proteins break down. Which results in an inflammatory response that causes damage later

Then Haber also turned around and decided to study flames and did basis researches on the Bunsen flame showing that in the luminous inner core at this flame. Haber got an award in 1918(awarded in 1919) for fixation of nitrogen from the air. In 1905 he soon published his book on the Thermodynamics of technical gas reaction. Harber then in 1905 published his own book on thermodynamics of technical gas reactions he viewed the productions of small amounts ammonia. He then decided to try the synthesis of ammonia then eventually accomplished it. This lead to Harber being in the establishment with the cooperation of Bosch and Mittasch of the Oppau and Leuna Ammonia Works. During the the years between the two World Wars Haber made an he own foredamp whistle for the protections of miners his quartz thread manometer for low gas pressures. When First World War Harber was appointed a consultant to the German war office organised various gas attacks and defended against them. This and many other work jobs undermined his health situation and for some time he was concentrated in many different chemist administrative

Robert Boyle, known as the “Father of Chemistry” an Irish chemist, physicist and inventor, was prominent in the 17th century (Ward, 2016). Boyle was born into an extremely wealthy family and at 8 years old received his

The History of Chemistry is ancient, starting at 1000 B.C to present time. Chemistry has evolved drastically over the centuries. the first civilization to take over chemistry were the Egyptians and Babylonians founded practical knowledge concerning the arts of metallurgy, pottery and dyes, but didn't develop a systematic theory.