Video Transcript
Fill in the blank: A small-scale laboratory preparation of ammonia is an example of (A) a renewable process, (B) a continuous process, (C) a batch process, (D) an automated process, (E) a nitrogenous process.
Ammonia is synthesized in industry using the Haber process. In the Haber process, nitrogen and hydrogen gases react to form the ammonia. Nitrogen gas from the air and hydrogen from natural gas are fed into a reactor. The gases are fed into the reactor continuously so the reaction never stops unless the reactor is shut down. This happens for routine maintenance about once a year. This makes the Haber process very efficient, but it requires special conditions to maintain the reaction.
These conditions can’t be maintained in the laboratory setting, so ammonia has to be produced another way. There are many ways to prepare ammonia in the laboratory. One way is to react an ammonium salt, like ammonium chloride, with a strong base, like sodium hydroxide. If these chemical species are heated, a white fog is produced, which is ammonia. This reaction also produces sodium chloride and water.
We can collect the ammonia this reaction produces. If we want more ammonia, we can’t produce it continuously like we do in industry. Instead, we have to start over with fresh reagents to create a second batch of ammonia. Since ammonia is prepared in batches in the lab, we should fill in the blank with answer choice (C), a batch process.
