Did you know that ammonia is among the five most produced substances in the world? And was his discovery of synthesis worthy of a Nobel Prize? It is so important that our own livelihood depends on it, our food would not be the same if the ammonia synthesis process did not exist.
Sir William Ramsey (1852-1916) in 1898 made a prediction that terrified mankind: food production would fall disastrously in reason for the lack of nitrogen fertilizers, all because until then they only existed in natural form and they were already scarce.
But that's where the work of a scientist made all the difference, the chemist Fritz Haber (1868 – 1934) with the help of engineer William Carl Bosch (1874 – 1940), he created a process for synthesizing ammonia, that is, it could be produced artificially. See the equation that represents the process:
N2(g) + 3 H2(g) ↔ 2 NH3(g) ∆ H = -92.22 Kj
Ammonia can be used directly as a fertilizer or even constitute the main raw material for the production of nitrogen fertilizers. Another use of ammonia is for the production of explosives, this application was also discovered by Haber. The scientist noted that when ammonia is oxidized, it produces nitric acid, an essential component for obtaining gunpowder.
These discoveries yielded the Fritz Haber a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in the year 1918. Haber made a valuable contribution to Germany during World War I through his studies of the application of ammonia to produce gunpowder made it possible to reduce the costs of obtaining explosives used on a large scale in battles.
Ironically, despite the contributions made to Germany during the war, Fritz Haber he was persecuted by the Nazis for being Jewish, and had to leave the country.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/fritz-haber-sintese-amonia.htm