Note that calcium sulfate is slightly soluble in water, and that ammonium salts enhance the solubility; this has been documented many times before on
this board. For use in making HNO3 this solubility is likely not a problem, but it is if you are after NH4NO3 for other purposes.
The catalytic oxidation of ammonia is a delicate balance between low conversion rates and three competing reactions. The first is the cracking of NH3
to N2 and H2, the second is oxidation of NH3 to N2 and H2O, and the thirdis the reaction of nitrogen oxides with ammonia to give H2O and N2. That 3rd
is used to reduce NOx emissions in combustion exhaust, first NH3 is added to react with the nitrogen oxides and the the stream flows through a slip
catalyst where excess NH3 is oxidised to N2 and H2O.
Industrially this is made practical by using high surface area catalysts in thin layers with careful control of mix ratios, temperatures, flow rates,
and quick quenching. Not easy to do on a small scale at home, while a demonstration may produce traces of NOx it is going to give disappointing
yields.
The smoke you observed is in part ammonium nitrite - NH4NO2. When dissolved in water it tends to react with itself to produce N2 and H2O, reducing the
yields bassed on NH3 or O3 consumed.
Someone here once posted a description of a set-up that used copper, strong aqueous NH3, and air, to produced a solution of Cu(NO3)2 or the
corresponding tetra-ammonium complex.
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