Q. Write the principle of industrial preparation of nitric acid or preparation of nitric acid from ammonia with equations.
Answer:
Industrial Preparation of Nitric Acid | Preparation of Nitric Acid from Ammonia
German scientist Oswald invented an industrial method of preparing nitric acid from ammonia. There are three stages in this method.
In the first stage, ammonia gas is mixed with air and passed rapidly through a platinum wire mesh held at 700°C-900°C, and the ammonia is oxidized by oxygen in the air to produce nitric oxide (NO) gas.
4NH3 + 502 = 4NO ↑ + 6H2O + Heat
The produced nitric oxide gas is cooled and oxidized by air oxygen to produce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas.
2NO + O2 = 2NO2 ↑
The NO2 produced reacts with water to produce nitric acid.
3NO2 + H2O = 2HNO3 + NO ↑