Contact Process & Haber Process

By: GROUP ONE

Ben, Wai Xin , Weng Kit ,Juin Zhuen ,Chen Hong

Raw Materials used in the Contact Process are sulphur, air and water.

Sulphuric Acid is manufactured by using Contact Process

The Contact Process involves three stages.

STAGE IProduction of sulphur

dioxide gasThis can be done by

using two methods:1)Burning sulphur in

dry air in the furnace2)Burning metal

sulphide in dry air

STAGE IIConversion of SO2 to SO31)Dry Sulphur Dioxide

with excess oxygen are passed through a converter

2)SO2 is converted to SO3 if there is presence of vanadium oxide ,V2O5 as catalyst , temperature between 450-550 degree Celsius and pressure of one atmosphere

Production of sulphuric acid1) In the absorber , sulphur trioxide is dissolved

in concentrated sulphuric acid to produce oleum, H2S2O7 , a viscous liquid.

2) Oleum is the diluted with an equal volume of water to produce concentrated sulphuric acid.

H2S2O7+ H2O 2H2OSO43) The two reactions on stage III are equivalent

to adding sulphur trioxide in water. SO3 +H2O H2SO4

In the year 1918 , Fritz Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the industrial manufacture of ammonia gas from hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas.

Nitrogen gas used in Haber Process is obtained from the fractional distillation on liquid air

Hydrogen used in Haber Process can be obtain from two method:

1)The reaction between steam and heated coke (carbon) H2O+CCO+H2

2)The reaction between steam and natural gas(consists mainly methane CH4)

I) A mixture consisting of one volume of nitrogen gas and three volumes of pure and dry hydrogen gas is compressed to a pressure between 200-500 atmosphere

II) The gas mixture in passed through a catalyst of powdered iron at a temperature of 450-550 degreed Celsius

III) At this optimum temperature and pressure ammonia gas is produced.