The Andrussow process is an industrial process for the production of

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an ...

from

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

and

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

in the presence of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

and a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

. :2 CH₄ + 2 NH₃ + 3 O₂ → 2 HCN + 6 H₂O The process is based on a reaction that was discovered by

Leonid Andrussow Leonid Andrussow (28 November 1896 in Riga – 15 December 1988 near Paris) was a German chemical engineer. He developed the process for the production of hydrogen cyanide based on the oxidation of ammonia and methane, which is named after him ...

in 1927. In the following years he developed the process that is named after him. HCN is also produced in the

BMA process The BMA process or Degussa process is a chemical process developed by the German chemical company Degussa for the production of hydrogen cyanide from methane and ammonia in presence of a platinum catalyst. Hydrogen cyanide is used in the chemical i ...

Side reactions

This reaction is very

exothermic In thermodynamics, an exothermic process () is a thermodynamic process or reaction that releases energy from the system to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat, but also in a form of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity (e ...

. The change of

enthalpy Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant ...

of this reaction is equal to ''-481.06 kJ''. The

heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

provided by the main reaction serves as a catalyst for other side reactions. :CH₄ + H₂O → CO + 3 H₂ :2 CH₄ + 3 O₂ → 2 CO + 4 H₂O :4 NH₃ + 3 O₂ → 2 N₂ + 6 H₂O These side reactions can be reduced by only short exposures to the catalyst of the order of 0.0003s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrussow Oxidation Organic redox reactions Industrial processes Catalysis Name reactions