Explain why similar yields of ammonia are produced at low-pressure levels, despite temperature increase.

Answer 1

The common way to produce ammonia on an industrial scale is by the Haber process which uses one mole of N₂ for every 3 moles of H₂. This reaction has the following fixed conditions: the temperature must be between 400-450 °C, the pressure must be at 200 atm, and a complex iron catalyst must be present. Due to both reactants and product being gases in a reversible exothermic equilibrium, the reaction would be more affected by pressure change than the temperature (The resource I reviewed indicates the temperature is as high as industrially feasible). As a result, the effect will follow Le Chatelier's Principle and proceed toward the side of the reaction with more molecules. In this case, that side is the reactant side.