Haber process

The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today. It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, who developed it in the first half of the 20th century. The process converts atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) to ammonia (NH₃) by a reaction with hydrogen (H₂) using a metal catalyst under high temperatures and pressures:

Before the development of the Haber process, ammonia had been difficult to produce on an industrial scale with early methods such as the Birkeland–Eyde process and Frank–Caro process all being highly inefficient.

Although the Haber process is mainly used to produce fertilizer today, during WWI it provided Germany with a source of ammonia for the production of explosives, compensating for the Allied trade blockade on Chilean saltpeter.

History

Throughout the 19th century the demand for nitrates and ammonia for use as fertilizers and industrial feedstocks had been steadily increasing. The main source was mining niter deposits. At the beginning of the 20th century it was being predicted that these reserves could not satisfy future demand and research into new potential sources of ammonia became more important. The obvious source was atmospheric nitrogen (N₂), comprising nearly 80% of the air, however N₂ is exceptionally stable and will not readily react with other chemicals. Converting N₂ into ammonia posed a chemical challenge for chemists globally.

Bosch

Bosch is the old name of 's-Hertogenbosch as well as the surname of that city's most famous son, the painter Hieronymus Bosch.

It may also refer to:

Places

Buildings

Chemistry

Companies

Bosch (crater)

Bosch is a small lunar impact crater near the North Pole of the Moon. It is located just to the northeast of Rozhdestvenskiy W

This crater was previously unnamed until it was given a name by the IAU along with 18 other craters on January 22, 2009. It was named after German Chemist and Nobel Prize winner Carl Bosch (c. 1874 – c. 1940).

References

Bosch, Netherlands

Bosch is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Cranendonck, about 1.5 km east of Budel.

Together with the hamlets of Meemortel and Heikant to the south, Bosch has a population of about 450.

According to the 19th-century historian A.J. van der Aa, Bosch consisted of 23 houses and had a population of 150 to 160 people in the middle of the 19th century. It was built on a dyke in heathlands.

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External links

Coordinates: 51°16′12″N 5°35′30″E / 51.27000°N 5.59167°E / 51.27000; 5.59167

Haber

Haber is a surname of German origin. The meaning in old German is "oat". The cereal is now in German called "Hafer". Notable people with this surname include:

See also

Haber (crater)

Haber is a lunar impact crater on the lunar far side near the northern pole. The crater was adopted and named after German chemist Fritz Haber by the IAU in 2009.

References

Haber (film)

Haber is a 2008 short-film written and directed by Daniel Ragussis. The film recounts the work of Fritz Haber in developing chemical weapons for the German army during World War I.

Although the film has not yet been released to the general public, screenings have taken place at film festivals around the world, where it has received praise from the media. There is also a non-commercial version of this film, used for educational purposes.

Plot

Fritz Shimon Haber was a German-born scientist and professor of Jewish origin with one of the most extraordinary dual legacies in history. On the one hand, his revolutionary process for creating synthetic fertilizers averted the greatest overpopulation crisis the world has ever known, won him the Nobel Prize in 1918, and now feeds over 2 billion people.

But Haber was also a staunch German patriot who loved his country with an almost blinding loyalty. Born and raised Jewish, his longing to be accepted as a true German and his intense ambition in his career led him to convert to Lutheranism and abandon his faith. When World War I broke out, the bloody stalemate of trench warfare threatened to slaughter an entire generation of young Germans, and the German military requested Haber to use his genius to create a new kind of weapon that could break the deadlock.