Video Transcript
Fill in the blank: The large-scale industrial preparation of ammonia is an example of a (A) renewable process, (B) progression process, (C) nitrogenous process, (D) batch process, (E) continuous process.
Ammonia is used to create fertilizers that contain nitrogen. In industry, it is synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen gas in the Haber process. Nitrogen gas from the air and hydrogen gas, which is produced from a reaction with methane and natural gas, are fed continuously into a reactor where the ammonia is produced. Then, the gas is cooled until the ammonia is a liquid. Only about 15 percent of the nitrogen and hydrogen gases react, so the unreacted gases are recycled and pass through the reactor again to produce more ammonia. Ammonia will be continuously produced as long as the nitrogen and hydrogen gases are flowing into the reactor.
Due to a loss of production, it’s expensive to shut the reactor down. So, ammonia is produced year round, that is, except for when the reactor is shut down for maintenance. But that only happens about once a year. Since ammonia is produced continuously inside the reactor, the large-scale industrial preparation of ammonia is an example of a continuous process. So, answer choice (E), continuous process, is the correct answer.
