There are 3 equations involved in manufacturing Nitric Acid from Ammonia.

First the ammonia is oxidized:
4NH3 + 5O2 = 4NO + 6H2O

Then for the absorption of the nitrogen oxides.
2NO + O2 = N2O4

Lastly, the N2O4 is further oxidized into Nitric acid.
3N2O4 + 2H2O = 4HNO3 + 2NO

Then run stoichiometry through these equations.
The first equation produces roughly 271,722,938 grams of NO
The second equation produces roughly 416,606,944 grams of N2O4
The last equation produces roughly 380,412,294 grams of HNO3 (nitric acid)

Convert the exact number back into tons, and your answer is: 419.332775 tons.

Rounded, I'm going to say that's 419.33 tons.
Hope this helps! :)

Also, it seems that commercially, Nitric Acid is commonly made by bubbling NO2 into water, rather than using ammonia.

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3 years ago