Fritz Haber has been well known by developing a process by synthesising ammonia from its elements relieving the world's dependence of Chilean ammonia.
Introduction
Fritz Haber has been well known by developing a process by synthesising ammonia from its elements relieving the world's dependence of Chilean ammonia. He is a twentieth century Nobel Prize winner who helped Germany in World War I by making several scientific discoveries to their advantage.
Haber was born on December 9, 1868 in Prussia. He was the son of a successful German chemical merchant and worked for his father after being educated in Berlin, Heidelberg, and Zurich. After a short time, Haber left his father's business and took up research in organic chemistry at the University of Jena. He left Jena and became a junior teacher at the Technische Hochschule of Karlsruhe. At the age of 25, Haber immediately bettered himself, with great enthusiasm he began to teach and research physical chemistry, a subject in which he was self-taught. Quickly he gained respect and recognition for his research in electrochemistry and thermodynamics. He also wrote many books involving his research.
The Haber Process does the following:
. The two gases are mixed and cleaned.
2. The mixture is compressed to bring the particles closer together.
3. The mixture then goes to the converter (temperature 450 C, pressure 200 atmosphere) which contain an iron catalyst, this helps to speed up the reaction.
4. The mixture is then cooled until the ammonia condenses. The unused nitrogen and hydrogen are pumped back into the converter.
5. The ammonia is then run into storage tanks and stored.
The Haber Process
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the worldwide demand for nitrogen based fertilisers increased. The largest source of chemicals necessary to produce fertilisers was found in a huge guano deposit (sea bird droppings) that was 220 miles in length and five feet thick, located along the coast of Chile. But William Crookes predicted that there would be a food shortage as the guano deposit was decreasing, so how would food be grown if there was no fertiliser. European farmers were not happy with the idea of only one source to obtain the fertiliser, they wanted to make their own. But the problem was that nitrogen is so unreactive, it is difficult to convert it into nitrogen compounds. Scientists had long desired to solve this problem. It was Haber, along with Carl Bosch, who finally solved this problem. Haber invented a catalytic to speed up the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen by using high temperatures (around 500oCelsius) and high pressure (approximately 200 atmosphere) to form ammonia. This is known as the Haber process. Now the world did not have to fear a scarcity.
Fritz Haber has been well known by developing a process by synthesising ammonia from its elements relieving the world's dependence of Chilean ammonia. He is a twentieth century Nobel Prize winner who helped Germany in World War I by making several scientific discoveries to their advantage.
Haber was born on December 9, 1868 in Prussia. He was the son of a successful German chemical merchant and worked for his father after being educated in Berlin, Heidelberg, and Zurich. After a short time, Haber left his father's business and took up research in organic chemistry at the University of Jena. He left Jena and became a junior teacher at the Technische Hochschule of Karlsruhe. At the age of 25, Haber immediately bettered himself, with great enthusiasm he began to teach and research physical chemistry, a subject in which he was self-taught. Quickly he gained respect and recognition for his research in electrochemistry and thermodynamics. He also wrote many books involving his research.
The Haber Process does the following:
. The two gases are mixed and cleaned.
2. The mixture is compressed to bring the particles closer together.
3. The mixture then goes to the converter (temperature 450 C, pressure 200 atmosphere) which contain an iron catalyst, this helps to speed up the reaction.
4. The mixture is then cooled until the ammonia condenses. The unused nitrogen and hydrogen are pumped back into the converter.
5. The ammonia is then run into storage tanks and stored.
The Haber Process
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the worldwide demand for nitrogen based fertilisers increased. The largest source of chemicals necessary to produce fertilisers was found in a huge guano deposit (sea bird droppings) that was 220 miles in length and five feet thick, located along the coast of Chile. But William Crookes predicted that there would be a food shortage as the guano deposit was decreasing, so how would food be grown if there was no fertiliser. European farmers were not happy with the idea of only one source to obtain the fertiliser, they wanted to make their own. But the problem was that nitrogen is so unreactive, it is difficult to convert it into nitrogen compounds. Scientists had long desired to solve this problem. It was Haber, along with Carl Bosch, who finally solved this problem. Haber invented a catalytic to speed up the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen by using high temperatures (around 500oCelsius) and high pressure (approximately 200 atmosphere) to form ammonia. This is known as the Haber process. Now the world did not have to fear a scarcity.
