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Where is sulfuric acid made?

Updated: 8/9/2023
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13y ago

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By the Contact Process.

Elemental sulphur is burnt in air to produce sulphur dioxide.

S + O2 = SO2

The sulphur dioxide is then mixed with oxygen(air) with a vanadium catalyst.

This produces sulphur trioxide.

2SO2 + O2 == Catalyst)V_==> SO3

The sulphur trioxide is then dissolved in sulphuric acid ( made earlier) to produce oleum (fuming sulphuric acid [ very nasty stuff).

SO3 + H2SO4 = H2S2O7 (oleum)

The oleum is then dissolved into water. to produce sulphuric acid.

H2S2O7 + H2O = 2H2SO4

NB The oleum is slowly passed into a large quantity of water. NOT water into the oleum. This is because of the heat released and the oleum 'spitting' and fuming ; very dangerous.

NNB Elemental sulphur can be obtained from volcanic fumeroles, notably in Indonesia. Also Texas, USA, has 'wash out' mines, where elemental sulphur was brought to the surface.

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lenpollock

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2y ago
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15y ago

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Sulfuric acid is, fundamentally, sulfur + water. The difficulty is: sulfur insoluble in water!

In its manufacture, therefore, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is produced from sulfur, oxygen and water via the contact process. There are two main ways: 1.

Step 1:- Sulfur is burned to produce sulfur dioxide.

= S(solid) + O2(gas) → SO2(gas) Step 2:- This is then oxidised to sulfur trioxide using oxygen in the presence of a vanadium(V) oxide catalyst.

= 2 SO2 + O2(g) → 2 SO3(g) (in presence of V2O5) Step 3.a:-The sulfur trioxide is treated with water (usually as 97-98% H2SO4 containing 2-3% water) to produce 98-99% sulfuric acid.

=SO3(g) + H2O(i.e. water) → H2SO4(liquid) Hey Presto! ----

Or, way 2.

The SO3, produced at step 2 above, can be processed in an alternative way. i.e.

Step 3.b. The SO3 can be absorbed into H2SO4 (concentrated sulfuric acid!) to produce oleum (H2S2O7)

= H2SO4(l) + SO3 → H2S2O7(l) Step 4:- Oleum can then be reacted with water to form more concentrated H2SO4.

= H2S2O7(l) + H2O → 2 H2SO4(l)

Be careful!

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6y ago

There are several ways to produce Sulfuric acid, but here is a list of easy ones:

Process 1:

Sulfur is burnt to produce Sulfur dioxide(SO2). Sulfur dioxide is oxidized to Sulfur trioxide(SO3) with oxygen and Vanadium(V) oxide catalyst. When it is dissolved in Water, it produces Sulfuric acid.

SO3 + H2O ----> H2SO4

Process 2:

Sulfur dioxide gas is passed through strong oxidizing liquids such as Hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) or concentrated Nitric acid(HNO3).

SO2 + H2O2 ----> H2SO4

SO2 + 2 HNO3 ----> H2SO4 + 2 NO2

Process 3:

Reacting Copper(II) sulfate with concentrated Hydrochloric acid produces Copper(II) chloride and Sulfuric acid via double displacement.

CuSO4 + 2 HCl ----> CuCl2 + H2SO4

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13y ago

Sulphuric acids are made when a chemical reaction occur between sulphur and water. This happens in labs when they are mixed together. It happens naturally when oxidation occurs with sulphur dioxide in water. Examples of naturally forming sulphuric acids are: Acid rain, sulphur dioxide is released mainly form burning sulphur impurities in fossil fuels; tears when cutting onions, when onions are cut they release small amounts of sulphur dioxide which can react with tears in the eye, causing irritations in the eye, so the body release more tears to prevent this irritation.

Answer:

The industrial manufacture of sulfuric acid requires several steps:

  • The first step is to obtain sulfur dioxide (SO2). This is done by recovering the gas directly from waste gas at locations like smelters, burning hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or the burning of pure elemental sulfur (S). These latter two otions use oxygen. If the resultant sulfur dioxide is directly mixed with water it creates sulfurous acid (H2SO3) not sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
  • The sulfur dioxide is further oxidized in the presence of a catalyst (vanadium(V) oxide) to convert the SO2 to sulfur trioxide (SO3), Sulfur trioxide and water unites to produce sulfuric acid. To prevent over heating however, the sulfur trioxide is first dissolved into 98% sulfuric acid.
  • The acid is diluted from this concentrated state (oleum) or fuming sulfuric acid to lower concentrations (e.g battery acid).
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13y ago

Sulphuric acid is manufactured by CONTACT PROCESS which is a three step process. These are:

  1. Burning of sulphur or sulphide ores in air to generate SO2.
  2. Conversion of SO2 into SO3 by catalytic oxidation in presence of Vanadium Pentaoxide as catalyst.
  3. Absorption of SO3 in H2SO4 to give oleum(H2S2O7).

Dilution of oleum gives the desired concentration of sulphuric acid.

The sulphuric acid produced by Contact process is upto 96-98% pure.

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11y ago

There are a number of ways. You can buy it from any local chemical store, straight from the chemical plant, or online at a science supply website, such as United Nuclear (refer the following link).

Be careful handling the acid when you get it. Sulfuric acid is a very powerful acid, and it can literally melt steel if it is exposed to it long enough.

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12y ago

Sulphuric acid is made of: Hydrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur

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13y ago

Jabber bin Hayan was the first person who introduced sulfuric acid

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12y ago

Brandon kerr i see you

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