Haber-Bosch process

Haber-Bosch process

 or Haber ammonia process or synthetic ammonia process

First economically feasible method of directly synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen gas and atmospheric nitrogen. It was developed c. 1909 by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch (1874–1940), prompted by rapidly increasing demand for nitrogen fertilizer. It was the first industrial process to use high pressure (200–400 atmospheres) for a chemical reaction. A catalyst (usually iron) lets it take place at a moderate temperature (750–1,200 °F [400–650 °C]), and immediate removal of ammonia as it is formed favours formation of more of it. Still the cheapest means of industrial nitrogen fixation, it is a basic process of the chemical industry.

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Haber-Bosch process [¦hä·bər ¦bȯsh ‚prä·səs]

(chemical engineering)

Early nitrogen-fixation process for production of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, catalyzed by iron; now replaced by more efficient ammonia synthesis processes. Also known as Haber process.