The main product of the Haber–Bosch process is ammonia.
The Haber–Bosch process synthesizes ammonia by reacting atmospheric nitrogen with hydrogen: N₂ + 3H₂ ⇌ 2NH₃. Industrial plants use elevated pressure, increased temperature, and an iron-based catalyst to make the reaction proceed at a practical rate while retaining a useful equilibrium yield.
Fritz Haber developed the laboratory method in the early twentieth century, and Carl Bosch helped transform it into an industrial process. The technology enabled the large-scale production of nitrogen fertilizers, providing a major source of fixed nitrogen for agriculture. Ammonia also serves as a feedstock for nitric acid, explosives, plastics, and many other chemicals.
The process does not turn nitrogen directly into nitrate fertilizer. It first makes ammonia, which can then be converted into products such as urea or nitric acid. Its importance is enormous, but its energy demand and carbon emissions are major subjects of modern chemical engineering.