ABSTRACT
Catalytic agents are employed in many industrial operations, and since the publication of the researches of Professor Sabatier of Toulouse, a stimulus has been applied to the utilisation of catalytic change for manufacturing purposes. An example of catalytic effect is to be found in the long-established lead-chamber process for making sulphuric acid, in which sulphur dioxide, water, and atmospheric oxygen are enabled to interact rapidly in the presence of a relatively small proportion of nitric peroxide. The introduction of a catalyst in the form of an active metal greatly increases the yield of ammonia, and when the ammonia formed is withdrawn from the mixture as quickly as possible, by absorption by an acid or otherwise, the action is further promoted. An interesting method of introducing a very active form of catalyst is based on the remarkable power possessed by nickel of uniting with carbonic oxide to form a volatile compound.
