Production of Nitric Acid

United States, Canada, Mexico, western Europe, and Japan, producer lists indicating plant location, size, product concentration, and data on nitric acid use. Table 4. U.S. Production of Nitric Acid/ 10 t/yr, 100% Basis... 

A major step in the production of nitric acid [7697-37-2] (qv) is the catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitric acid and water. Very short contact times on a platinum—rhodium catalyst at temperatures above 650°C are required. 

As of 1996 world production of sodium nitrate was about 520,000 metric tons annually. Of this quantity, some 450,000 t (86%) are produced in Chile from natural deposits by SQM Nitratos and distributed worldwide by several affOiates, eg, Chilean Nitrate Corporation in the United States and Nitrate Sales International in Belgium. The remainder, ca 70,000 t, is manufactured mainly in Europe, Japan, and Russia, generally as a by-product of nitric acid production. Additionally, China is known to manufacture some unknown but significant volumes of sodium nitrate for domestic use. 

The catalyst temperature is about 1100°C. Precious metal catalysts (90% Pt/10% Rh in gauze form) are normally used in the commercial processes. The converters are similar to the ammonia oxidation converters used in the production of nitric acid (qv) although the latter operate at somewhat lower temperatures. The feed gases to the converter are thoroughly premixed. The optimum operating mixture of feed gas is above the upper flammabiUty limit and caution must be exercised to keep the mixture from entering the explosive range. 

Since the first application of turbocompressors (Figure 4-1) in large-scale production of nitric acid as a raw material for fertilizers, explosives, plastics, and a variety of other chemical products, the requirements on processes as well as on rotating equipment have become increasingly demanding. Environmental as well as economic considerations have heavily influenced the development of such plants. 

The most important use of ammonia is in the production of nitric acid (HNO3). Ammonia burns in oxygen, releasing hydrogen to form water and free nitrogen. With the catalysts platinum and rhodium, ammonia is oxidized and reacted with water to form nitric acid. Nitric acid treated... 

Nitric oxide is the simplest thermally stable odd-electron molecule known and, accordingly, its electronic structure and reaction chemistry have been very extensively studied. The compound is an intermediate in the production of nitric acid and is prepared industrially by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia (p. 466). On the laboratory scale it can be synthesized from aqueous solution by the mild reduction of acidified nitrites with iodide or ferrocyanide or by the disproportionation of nitrous acid in the presence of dilute sulfuric acid ... 

Before 1900 the large-scale production of nitric acid was based entirely on the reaction of concentrated sulfuric acid with NaNOa and KNOj (p. 407). The first successful process for making nitric acid directly from Ni and O2 was devised in 1903 by E. Birkeland and S. Eyde in Norway and represented the first industrial fixation of nitrogen ... 

Uses. Since 1947, 70 to 85% of the annual USA production of nitric acid has gone into the production of NH4 nitrate fertilizer, initially in the form of solid prills currently, increasing amounts have been supplied mixed with excess ammonia and/or urea as aqueous nitrogen solution for direct application to the soil. Some 15% is used in explsj (nitrates nitro compds), and about 10% is consumed by the chemical industry. As the red fuming acid or as nitrogen tetroxide, nitric acid is used extensively as the oxidizer in proplnts for rocketry. It is estimated that current USA capacity for nitric acid is in excess of 10 million tons (Refs 30, 34, 36 37)... 

Direct Production of Concentrated Nitric Acid. The concept of direct production of nitric acid covers many processes. In one, aq nitric acid is agitated with an excess of liq nitrogen dh oxide (N2 04) until two layers are formed. 

Absorption of Nitrogen Oxides in Water to Form Nitric Acid Solution. The production of nitric acid from nitrous gases such as are obtained in... 

H.20 The first stage in the production of nitric acid by the Ostwald process is the reaction of ammonia gas with oxygen gas, producing nitric oxide gas, NO, and liquid water. The nitric oxide further reacts with oxygen to produce nitrogen dioxide gas, which, when dissolved in water, produces nitric acid and nitric oxide. Write the three balanced equations that lead to the production of nitric acid. 

Nitric acid, a leading industrial chemical, is used in the production of fertilizers and explosives. One step in the industrial production of nitric acid is the reaction of ammonia with molecular oxygen to form nitrogen oxide 4 NH3 + 5 O2 4 NO + 6 H2 O In a study of this reaction, a chemist mixed 125 g of ammonia with 256 g of oxygen and allowed them to react to completion. What masses of NO and H2O were produced, and what mass of which reactant was left over ... 

C04-0069. Most of the ammonia produced by the Haber process is used as fertilizer. A second important use of NH3 is in the production of nitric acid, a top-15 industrial chemical. Nitric acid is produced by... 

C05-0029. In the industrial production of nitric acid, one step is oxidation of nitrogen oxide ... 

By far the most important use of the platinum metals is for catalysis. The largest single use is in automobile catalytic converters. Platinum is the principal catalyst, but catalytic converters also contain rhodium and palladium. These elements also catalyze a wide variety of reactions in the chemical and petroleum industry. For example, platinum metal is the catalyst for ammonia oxidation in the production of nitric acid, as described in Pt gauze, 1200 K... 

Schematic (block) diagram production of nitric acid by oxidation of ammonia...

A convenient preparative method for conjugated nitroalkenes has been developed based on the reaction of nitrogen oxides. Nitric oxide (NO) is commercially available and used in the industry for the mass production of nitric acid. Nitric oxide is currently one of the most studied molecules in the fields of biochemistry, medicine, and environmental science.47 Thus, the reaction of NO with alkenes under aerobic conditions is of a renewed importance.48... 

Ammonia is produced in huge quantities, and it is by far the most common and important compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. Approximately 30 billion pounds of NH3 are used annually with a large portion being used as fertilizer or in the production of nitric acid. Ammonia is produced by the Haber... 

Ammonia is also the starting material for the production of nitric acid, and the first step is oxidation of ammonia by the Ostwald process. 

Used industrially for the production of nitric acid and as a nitrating agent, oxidizing agent polymerization inhibitor for acrylates and as an oxidizer for rocket fuels. 

The oxidation of ammonia (one of the reactions in the production of nitric acid) ... 

One of the steps in the Ostwald process for the production of nitric acid involves the oxidation of ammonia. 

Transition metals and their compounds are used as catalysts. Catalysts you may already know are Iron In the Haber process (Industrial production of ammonia) platinum in the Ostwald process (Industrial production of nitric acid) and platinum, rhodium and palladium In catalytic converters. 

Isoxazoleazo Derivatives of Trinitromethane Prepared from Acetylene. In studying the reaction products of nitric acid with acetylene, Quilico isolated an explosive product of yellow color corresponding to the formula C4H207N6, mw 246.10, N 34.15%... 

Catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitric oxide is the basis of production of nitric acid. It is also used in other processes, of which may be mentioned hydroxylamine synthesis (Section XIII) and the chamber process for the production of sulfuric acid. The products of the reaction are nitric oxide, water, and nitrogen, so that the reaction can be described by the equation... 

In the production of nitric acid the reaction is accomplished with mixtures of ammonia and air or sometimes with mixtures of ammonia, air, and oxygen, containing about 10 vol % NH3 at pressures of 1-10 atm (below... 

Determine the values of AH° and AS° for each stage of the Ostwald process for the production of nitric acid. Predict the conditions of pressure and temperature that favor the formation of the products in each case. 

Ostwald process The production of nitric acid by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia, overall order The sum of the powers to which individual concentrations are raised in the rate law of a reaction. Example If the rate = [S02][S03]" l/2, then the overall order is f. 

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