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Works Cited

Bowlby, Chris. "The Jewish Chemist Whose Work Led to Zyklon B." BBC News. BBC, 11 Apr. 2007. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.

Clark, Jim. "The Haber Process for the Manufacture of Ammonia." Chemistry Guide. N.p., 2002. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

Dick, Jutta. "Clara Immerwahr." Jewish Women's Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.

Goran, Morris. "The Present Day Significance of Fritz Haber." American Scientist July 1947: n. pag. Print.

King, Gilbert. "Fritz Haber’s Experiments in Life and Death." Smithsonian Magazine 6 June 2012: n. pag. Smithsonian.com. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

The

Haber–Bosch Process

Unfortunately...

NITROGEN FIXATION

  • Natural gas
  • Acid rain
  • Global warming
  • Runoff enters water table
  • Nitrite in drinking water
  • "Dead zones"

Atmospheric Nitrogen (N2)

  • Readily available
  • But, difficult to access
  • Until: the Haber-Bosch Process
  • Fritz Haber
  • Carl Bosch

THE PROCESS

Post World War II

  • Large-scale manufacture of ammonium nitrate fertilizer begins
  • Revolutionizes agriculture
  • Nitrogen fertilizer supports two-fifths of the world's population

N2(g)+3H2(g) 2NH3(g) H=-92 kJ mol-1

By Niamh Evenhouse

The "Father of Chemical Warfare"

Clara Haber

a "perversion of the ideals of science"

Fritz Haber

"A scientist belongs to his country in times of war and to all mankind in times of peace."

TEMPERATURE

Higher!

Lower!

1914: Germany enters World War I

Essential to German war effort: Nitrate-based explosives

Supply block: Chilean mines (owned mainly by British industrialists) supply Allies

Fritz Haber, 1868-1934

PRESSURE

  • Maximize speed

--> As high as possible

  • Maximize forward reaction

Le Chatelier's Principle

--> As low as possible

  • Keep it cheap

--> As low as possible

Lower!

Higher!

Compromise:

400 - 500 C

Produces a 15% equilibrium in a very short time

  • Profits!

--> Not too high

  • Maximize forward reaction

Le Chatelier's Principle

--> As high as possible

  • Speed up reaction

maximize contact with catalyst

--> As high as possible

Compromise:

200 atm

Saltpeter Works of Humberstone and Santa Laura, ghost towns by 1960s

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