The Haber Process: A Visual Explainer
A single labelled flowchart tracing ammonia synthesis from raw nitrogen and hydrogen through compression, catalytic reaction and liquefaction, including the recycle loop for unreacted gases.
📌 Revision Pointers
Five stages in order: Raw Material Supply → Compression (≈200 atm) → Catalytic Converter (Iron catalyst, ≈450°C) → Cooling Chamber/Condenser → Recycle Loop.
Core equation: N₂(g) + 3H₂(g) ⇌ 2NH₃(g) + heat – an exothermic, reversible reaction where gas moles fall from 4 to 2, so high pressure favours the forward (ammonia-forming) direction.
Only about 15% of gas converts per single pass, so unreacted N₂ and H₂ are continuously recycled back to the compressor – the iron catalyst speeds up equilibrium but does not shift it.
One clean five-stage diagram showing how N₂ and H₂ combine over an iron catalyst at high temperature and pressure to form liquid ammonia, with unreacted gas recycled back to the compressor.
💭 Conclusion
A classic Prelims diagram – know the five stages, the reversible equation, and why 450°C/200 atm/iron catalyst are each a trade-off, not an arbitrary number.