What is ammonia oxidation?
Let's start with ammonia.
Now for oxidation.
So, ammonia oxidation is the reaction of ammonia with oxygen. This is how we write the reaction equation:
4NH3 (ammonia) + 5O2 (oxygen) ÷ 4NO (nitric oxide) + 6H2O (water)
Ammonia and oxygen are the reactants and nitric oxide and water are the products. As you probably guessed, the product we're interested in is nitric oxide, or NO. We don't have to oxidize ammonia to get water! This is Seattle, remember, and water is available just about anywhere, any time! So, just what is nitric oxide, you ask ….
Nitric oxide is a gas that decomposes in air, so it's typically made only when needed immediately.
That trusty old reference WBM2000 tells us that nitric oxide is a colorless, poisonous, gaseous compound, obtained by the oxidation of nitrogen or ammonia. Whoa, another nasty gas! Why would anyone want to make nitric oxide? Go forward and find out!
BUT ...
If you're really interested, check out the junior chemical engineer's version of this page.
If you're sort of lost, here's how to get all the way back to the beginning of the high school version