Chemistry and Biochemistry Academy

The Ostwald process is a chemical process which was developed by a German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald in 1902(Yang et al. 1807). The Ostwald process is used in the production of nitrogen-containing substances. It is mainly utilized in the production of nitrogenous fertilizers and pharmaceuticals. The Ostwald process is closely related to Haber process, which gives ammonia (NH 3 ), a raw material for the Ostwald process reactions (Liu et al. 1425). Ostwald process is important chemical process since some chemical processes in the industries are difficult to carry out by other methods. For example, nitric acid is hard to produce on the industrial scale by other means, but through Ostwald process, it is easier. In the initial step of Ostwald process, oxygen and ammonia gas react to form nitrogen monoxide. This first reaction occurs in the presence of catalyst as shown below:  The reaction at this step is exothermic.   When the reaction is carried out at the laboratory level, th

Introduction  Visualizing a good model of heat or energy is tiresome.   Sometimes heat can be perceived in what it does.   Scholars believed that when water is heated, its molecules move at faster velocities and collide with the molecules next to them faster. Hence, visualizing energy at molecular stage aids in coming up with a reasonable model of understanding the energy or heat fully.   For instance, water exists in two forms (solid and water). Therefore, their molecular behavior must be different.   A good model for water will be that which accounts for the changes that take place when it is changing from one form to another. As water liquid converts to solid, much of the energy associated with its molecules is lost. The loss of the energy makes the frequency of the movement and collision of molecules to reduce. When melting solid water (ice) by increasing the quantity of heat, some of the added heat to ice, breaks the attraction forces that hold water molecules together.

Introduction             In plants, essential nutrients play significant roles to ensure the healthy functioning of the plants. The nutrients in plants are protein, vitamins, minerals, nucleic acids and carbohydrates. The essential nutrients are divided into macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients which have distinctive roles in plants. The macro-nutrients are calcium, sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. On the other hand, micro-nutrients encompass; chlorine, manganese, iron, zinc, nickel, copper and barium (Imsande 140). When the plants are in deficient of any of the essential nutrients, their functions are affected. Some of the causes of the unavailability of the essential nutrients to the plants include; change in weather conditions, acid-like conditions and drought. The depletion of macro-nutrients in plants results in wilting decreased budding and loss of chlorophyll.   When the plant is in deficient of sulfur, growth of the plant is retarded (González-B