The Fritz Haber Process
By: Cameron Eyring
The Fritz Haber process is when N2+3H2 <-> 2NH3 is put under increased pressure and heat, causing more NH3 to be formed (Nobelprize.org). The nitrogen and hydrogen gas is pumped into the chamber on the right at extremely high pressure and is then heated. It is then pumped into the left chamber, where the liquid NH3 is collected, and the leftover nitrogen and hydrogen gas are recycled This allows the nitrogen to be fixed, and in a suitable form for plants to use. This process was also used in order to create bombs and mustard gas during World War I and II (Radebe).
Plants need nitrogen to survive, as it is used for the creation of proteins and enzymes. There is only about enough nitrogen to sustain the food production for 2 billion people without the usage of the Fritz Haber process, however there are 7 billion people on the earth (Herridge, Peoples, Boddey). Nitrogen in plants “... is a major component of chlorophyll, the most important pigment needed for photosynthesis, as well amino
acids, the key building blocks of proteins. It is also found in other important
biomolecules, such as ATP and nucleic acids. Even though it is one of the most abundant
elements (predominantly in the form of nitrogen gas (N2) in the Earth’s atmosphere),
plants can only utilize reduced forms of this element” (Wagner).
Without fixed nitrogen, many plants would be unable to function properly and die.
Agriculture Around the Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay area has over 87,000 farm operations, taking up over 8.5 million acres of cropland (chesapeakebay.net). Also, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the farm operations located in Maryland made approximately $1,751,525,000 in the year 2011 (nass.usda.gov). It is extremely vital to human beings that nitrogen fertilizer is used in order to produce enough crops to feed a population as large as ours, along with many other animals.
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