The Ostwald Process

The Ostwald Process

Under what temperature, pressure, and other conditions is this reaction typically carried out? How does this relate to the conditions you previously explained?

The reaction is Exothermic and uses a catalyst to carry out the process, the catalyst is platinum gauze which is usually heated at 900 C in the commercial reaction. But a hot Copper wire can act as a catalyst as well.

The reaction is right equilibrium so pressure and volume are added to balance the reaction/product.

What safety, cost, or other considerations prevent most industrial applications from using the most ideal conditions for high yield of the product?

Use Le Châtelier’s principle to explain the conditions that favor the forward reaction.

Who developed or discovered this process? When? What country was he or she from? (Provide this information if you can find it.)

The only saftey cost is that the Ostwald process can also be made for TNT, which means that the reaction is somewhat Explosive if the process is done wrong. however the process is very popular so everyone who uses the process uses it frequently.

The Ostwald process was discovered by Russian scientist Wilhelm Ostwald who was born in Riga, Russia to his mother Elisabeth Leuckel and father Gottfried Wilhelm Ostwald. Ostwald created the process in 1902 and was awarded a Nobel prize in 1909.

In terms of Le Châtelier’s principal, the Ostwald process favors forward reaction and shifts the equilibrium to the right. The Process decreases temperature, increases concentration, and increases pressure and volume, the process shifts to the right because in the equations there is an absence of mols on the right side. Water is constantly added furing the process which increases concentration. All of which favors Forward reactions.

Describe the process you researched, including its uses in various industrial or health fields.

What catalyst, if any, is used for this reaction?

platinum gauze is used in the commercial reaction as a catalyst, but an alternative is a hot copper wire

I did my project on the Ostwald Process, The Ostwald process converts Ammonia into Nitric Acid. The Ostwald process uses a couple steps

1. Step one is oxidation (part 1) where ammonia is turned into one part nitric acid and 8 parts oxygen, platinum gauze is usually the catalyst

2. Step two is where the second part of the oxidation takes place where nitric oxide is made by cooling down the temperature.

3. Nitric dioxide is introduced and absorbed.

4. concentration is increased

The Ostwald Process is used to make pharmaceuticals for the health fields, fertilizers for agricultural fields, and TNT for construction

Write a balanced chemical equation for this reaction, including the energy term. Is it an endothermic or exothermic reaction?

There are diffrent equations for each step of the Ostwald Process

Step 1: 4NH3 (gas) + 5O2 (gas) → 4NO (gas) + 6H2O (gas)

Ammonia is heated with Oxygen

Step 2: 2NO (gas) + O2 (gas) → 2NO2 (gas)

nitric oxide (NO) is combined with oxygento create nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Step 3: 3NO2 (gas) + H2O (liquid) → 2HNO3 (aqueous solution) + NO (gas)

nitrogen dioxide is absorbed with water to make nitric acid

Step 4: 4NO2 (gas) + O2 (gas) + 2H2O (liquid) → 4HNO3 (aqueous solution)

Nitric Oxide is made

The Ostwald process is an Exothermic process because it gives off heat during the whole process and the initial reaction

Provide a short paragraph providing some historical background. Why is, or was, this an important chemical process?

This is a very important process because the Ostwald process is used to make Pharmaceuticals, Fertilizers, and TNT. The Ostwald process was the most efficient way to turn ammonia into nitric acid in two main steps. The Ostwald process makes the creation of the fertilizers and medicine really fast since there was and still is a high demand for medicine and fertilizer.