Ammonia is manufactured from nitrogen and hydrogen by the Haber process:
N₂(g) + 3H₂(g) ⇌ 2NH₃(g)
The forward reaction is exothermic.
The conditions used in the Haber process are:
- 200 atmospheres pressure
- 450 °C
- iron catalyst
Use the equation and your knowledge of reversible reactions to explain why these conditions are used in the Haber process. To get full marks, you must consider both yield and rate of reaction in your answer.
450 °C
high temperature ______________ the rate of reaction
• particles are moving faster so there are more _____________collisions.
• The particles have more ____________ energy so a greater proportion of the collisions exceed the _______________ energy and are successful.
forward reaction is _______________ so a high yield of ammonia requires a ________ temperature
450 °C is a compromise temperature
Too low a temperature causes the _________ of reaction to be too slow and too high a temperature causes the __________ to be too low.