AMMONIUM SULPHATE

By
NITHIN MOHANDAS.
Roll No : 67.
AMMONIUM SULPHATE
 CONTENTS :

Basic Knowledge About Ammonium Sulphate.

Uses Of Ammonium Sulphate.
Manufacture Of Ammonium Sulphate.
By Use of Sulphuric Acid .
Mesberg Process.
Biblography.
 1. Basic Knowledge About Ammonium Sulphate.

Ammonium Sulphate is a white rhombic solid, (NH4)2SO4; that

decomposes at 235C. It is very soluble in water and insoluble in ethanol.
Ammonium Sulphate is basically an inorganic salt which has a great commercial
use. It is usually used for producing artifical fertilizer.

Chemical Structure of Ammonium Sulphate:

Ball and Stick Model of Ammonium Sulphate:

 Properties Of Ammonium Sulphate:

Ammonium Sulphate is white crystalline solid, having a

Molecular Formula : (NH3)2SO4 .

Molecular Weight : 132.

Density : 1.77 gm/cm3 .

IUPAC : Diazanium sulfate

Other recommended names are Diammonium Sulfate , Sulfuric acid

Diammonium salt , Dolamin .

Regarding its Solubility,it is Soluble in Water { 70.6 g/100 mL (0 C) ,

74.4 g/100 mL (20 C) , 103.8 g/100 mL (100 C) } , but it is insoluble in solvents
like acetone , alcohol and ether.

Its Melting Point is about 235-280 C , 508-553 K , 455-536 F and has a Critical
Relative Humidity of 79.2% (30 C).
NFPA 704 ( National Fire Protection Association) is a standard
maintained by the U.S which has listed following "FIRE DIAMOND" for
Ammonium Sulphate which can be used by emergency personnel to quickly and
easily identify the risks posed by nearby hazardous materials.
 2. USES OF AMMONIUM SULPHATE

Ammonium Sulphate is used largely as an artificial fertilizer for alkaline

soils. The ammonium ion is released in the soil forms a small amount of acid
which lowers the pH balance of the soil, thus contributing essential nitrogen for
the plant growth.
It is also used as an agricultural spray adjuvant (An adjuvant is a
pharmacological or immunological agent that modifies the effect of other agents
(e.g., drugs, vaccines) while having few if any direct effects when given by
itself).for water soluble insecticides, herbicides, andfungicides.
There it functions to bind iron and calcium cations that are present in both
well water and plant cells. It is particularly effective as an adjuvant for 2,4-D
(amine), glyphosate, and glufosinate herbicides.
It is also used in the preparation of other ammonium salts.
In biochemistry, ammonium sulfate precipitation is a common method for
purifying proteins by precipitation.
Ammonium sulfate is also a food additive.
A saturated solution of ammonium sulfate in heavy water (D2O) is used as
an external standard in sulfur (33S) NMR spectroscopy with shift value of 0 ppm.
It has also been used in flame retardant compositions acting much
like Diammonium phosphate. As a flame retardant, it lowers the combustion
temperature of the material, decreases maximum weight loss rates, and causes an
increase in the production of residue or char.
In November 2009, a ban on ammonium sulfate, ammonium
nitrate and calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizers was imposed in the
former Malakand Division by the NWFP government , following reports that
those chemicals were used by militants to make explosives. In January 2010,
these substances were also banned inAfghanistan for the same reason.
 3. Manufacturing Of Ammonium Sulphate.

Ammonium Sulphate can be manufactured by two process which are as

follows:
(a) By using Sulphuric Acid.

(b) Mesberg Process.

a) By Using Sulphuric Acid.

This method is used by most of Indian Chemical Industries in producing
Ammonium Sulphate,the reason for this is that Sulphuric Acid is comparatively
cheaper than other raw materials.

Raw Materials : Ammonia (NH3) , Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4).

Chemical Reaction :
Chemical reaction between Ammonia & Sulphuric Acid produces
Ammonium Sulphate which is an exothermic reaction

2NH3 (s) + H2 SO4(aq) (NH)4SO4(s) H= -274 kJ/mol.

The reaction mentioned above is NEUTRALISATION REACTION. The

product from above reaction is liquid Ammonium Sulphate which is dried to
convert it into solid Ammonium Sulphate.
Process Flow Sheet for Ammonium Sulphate production by using H2SO4
Process Description :

Ammonium sulphate is made by reacting synthetic ammonia (or by-

product ammonia from coke-ovens) with sulphuric acid in a Scrubber. Here
sulphuric acid is scrubbed with ammonia to get Ammonium sulphate in liquid
form.
Ammonium sulphate in liquid form is then passed into Evapourator were
water is removed from the top portion to get a concenterated solution of
Ammonium sulphate . The heat from above reaction is utilized for evapourating
water from the solution .
This molten solution is then passed on to a Drier were the solution is
sprayed from the top and air hot air is blown from the bottom part.
This results in a complete removal of water from the solution to obtain prills of
Ammonium sulphate.
This prills of Ammonium sulphate is then further cooled by passing it into a
Cooler.The product from the Cooler is then passed into a Screening Section were
the solids are seperated according to there sizes. This solid are further Coated
and are packed in the Packing Section.
(b) Mesberg Process :

This method is used by most of Foreign Chemical Industries for producing

Ammonium Sulphate. In this method, Sulphuric Acid is substituted by Gypsum.

Raw Materials : Ammonia (NH3) , Carbon Di Oxide (CO2) , Water (H2O) ,

Gypsum(CaSO4).

Chemical Reaction :

In this reaction Ammonia is treated with Carbon di Oxide and Water to

form Ammonium Carbonate .

2NH3 + CO2+H2O (NH)4CO3

(NH)4CO3+CaSO4 (NH)2SO4 + CaCO3

This reaction procced by forming an intermediate compound called

Ammonium Carbonate which is then treated with Gypsum to form Ammonium
Sulphate and insoluble Calicum Carbonate.
Process Flow Sheet for Ammonium Sulphate production by using Gypsum.
Process Description :

Ammonia along with CO2 is added into Absorption tower and

Water is sprayed from the top. Both gases get absorbed in water and react to
form Ammonium Carbonate.

Ammonium Carbonate is then feed into a Reactor along with

Grounded Gypsum, reaction between them produces Ammonium Sulphate and
Insoluble Calicum Carbonate.

This solution is then feed into Filteration Section .The solution

is feed onto a Drum Dryer where the drum is rotated which causes the insoluble
CaCO3 to attach on the drum surface which is then dried to form a cake of
filterate on the Drum surface which is then removed by using a sharpe edge
Knife.This process is continued till most of CaCO3 is removed.

The product solution remaining inside the pool is then passed

onto a Storage Tank & Settling Tank were settling of insoluble CaCO3 take place.

The pure solution obtained is taken out andpassed to a

Solidifying Section were it is Condensed in a Condenser, which is then dried by
passing it onto a Crystal Evapourator to obtain a concenterated molten solution
of Ammonium Sulphate.

This molten solution of Ammonium Sulphate is passed onto a

Drier and to a Cooler to obtain dried Ammonium Sulphate. The product from the
Cooler is then passed into a Screening Section were the solids are seperated
according to there sizes. This solid are further Coated and are packed in the
Packing Section.
 4. Bibliography

The following sources were referred in order to prepare this project :

1] Shreves Chemical Process Industries G.T.Austin, McGraw Hill

2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_sulfate

3] www.images.google.com