World Catalyst Market Series ---- The 8 Catalysts That Are Changing the World: Part 2 Ammonia Synthesis Catalysts

Synthetic ammonia catalyst: If we are to talk about what is the most important invention of humanity, Fritz Haber’s process for producing synthetic ammonia is definitely at the top of that list. The industrialization of the ammonia synthesis process meant that humans could produce large quantities of ammonia from inorganic gases nitrogen and hydrogen, which is used as a nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture. The industrial-scale supply of such fertilizers led to a significant increase in food production. The emergence of synthetic ammonia spurred rapid development in the fertilizer industry as well as other industries, bringing immeasurable benefits to humanity. Most importantly, the main reason that enabled the industrialization of the ammonia synthesis process was the invention of iron-based catalysts. In the past, even under high temperature and pressure conditions, the efficiency of converting nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia was extremely low. In 1909, German chemist Fritz Haber produced ammonia directly at a yield of 6% by using the metal osmium as a catalyst under 200 atmospheres of pressure and 600°C. Two years later, Haber developed an iron catalyst that was cheaper and more efficient, and established an ammonia synthesis plant with a production capacity of 30 tons per day. This is a major victory for artificial nitrogen fixation, as well as a major achievement for catalysts in the chemical industry and chemical research. Due to the invention of the ammonia synthesis process, Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918.