Ammonia and sulfuric acid are widely used chemicals in the production of fertilizers and explosives. Ammonia is produced through the Haber-Bosch process and is used in the production of various fertilizers. Sulfuric acid is produced through the oxidation of sulfur dioxide and is used in the production of superphosphate fertilizer. Both chemicals can also combine in the atmosphere to produce ammonium sulfate particles, which are important in cloud formation.
Ammonia and sulfuric acid are two of the most widely used chemicals and are produced in huge quantities all over the world. Both have a variety of uses, but the main connection between ammonia and sulfuric acid is due to their use in the fertilizer industry. Ammonia is used for the production of many fertilizers, such as urea, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate and, indirectly, other nitrate fertilizers. Sulfuric acid is used in the production of “superphosphate” fertilizer and ammonium sulfate, obtained by combining it with ammonia.
The industrial production of ammonia (NH3) is primarily by the Haber-Bosch process, in which hydrogen and nitrogen are combined directly by heating under pressure with a catalyst, usually a mixture of iron oxides. Most of the ammonia is used in the production of fertilizers. The catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is today the main industrial process for the production of nitric acid, used in the production of nitrate fertilizers such as ammonium, sodium and potassium nitrate. The term “ammonia,” strictly speaking, refers to the pure compound, which is a gas at room temperature; however, the term is often used to refer to a solution of ammonia gas in water.
There are two main processes for the industrial production of sulfuric acid. The first to be introduced involves the oxidation of sulfur dioxide — produced by the combustion of sulfur or by heating sulfur-containing minerals — by nitrogen dioxide (NO2) through the reaction: SO2 + NO2 -> SO3 + NO. The nitric oxide (NO) produced by the reaction is oxidized back to NO2 in contact with air, and therefore can be recycled.
Ammonia is the source of NO2 for this reaction, being produced by catalytic oxidation according to the nitric acid production process. The sulfur trioxide is then combined with water to produce sulfuric acid. Most of the sulfuric acid produced today, however, comes from the oxidation of sulfur dioxide in the air using a vanadium pentoxide catalyst.
Like ammonia, one of the major uses of sulfuric acid is in the production of fertilizers. Rock phosphate and animal bone meal can be used to make “superphosphate” — monocalcium phosphate — by the reaction: Ca3(PO4)2 + 2H2SO4 -> 2CaSOsub>4 + Ca(H2PO4)2. Sulfuric acid and ammonia can also be combined to give the ammonium sulphate salt: 2NH3 + H2SO4 -> (NH4)2SO4. This salt is an important fertilizer, acting as a source of both nitrogen and sulfur, and helping to lower the pH of alkaline soils.
Another connection between ammonia and sulfuric acid is in the explosives industry. Nearly all commercial and military explosives are nitrated organic compounds, such as trinitrotoluene (TNT). The nitration process involves replacing the hydroxyl groups (OH) in the organic compound with nitro groups (NO2) and is usually done by treating the compound with a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids. This mixture supplies the nitronium ions (NO2+) for the nitration process. Ammonia is the main raw material used in the production of nitric acid.
Ammonia and sulfuric acid are also found as pollutants in the atmosphere. Sulfuric acid derives from the natural oxidation of sulfur dioxide produced by the combustion of fossil fuels and by volcanic activity. Ammonia comes from the decay of nitrogen-containing organic materials. The two can combine in the atmosphere to produce ammonium sulfate particles by the same reaction as in the industrial production of this compound, or to produce ammonium hydrogen sulfate – also known as ammonium bisulfate – by the reaction NH3 + H2SO4 -> (NH4 )HSO4. These compounds are very soluble in water and therefore tend to absorb atmospheric water vapour, making them act as condensation nuclei; together with other particulate compounds in the atmosphere, natural and man-made, they are thought to be an important factor in cloud formation.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
