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Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen, with the molecular formula H 2 SO 4. It is a colorless, odorless, and viscous liquid that is miscible with water. [7] Structure ...
In several places there is a need for both electric power and sulfuric acid. A cheap high-sulfur fuel such as petroleum coke can be used for power generation, while the flue gas is cleaned in an SNOX plant producing sulfuric acid. Elemental sulfur is fired in the SNOX plant in order to produce the desired amount of sulfuric acid.
The contact process is a method of producing sulfuric acid in the high concentrations needed for industrial processes. Platinum was originally used as the catalyst for this reaction; however, because it is susceptible to reacting with arsenic impurities in the sulfur feedstock, vanadium(V) oxide (V 2 O 5) has since been preferred.
The sulfur is recovered in the form of sulfuric acid. Sulfur recovery from smelters rose from 544,000 metric tons in 1970 to 1,403,000 tons in 1980, due to tightened air emissions standards. Sulfur recovery peaked in 1988 at 1,610,000 tons, then declined to 730,000 tons in 2014, coinciding with a decline in the U.S. metal smelting industry.
Concentrated sulfuric acid is a strong dehydrating agent that can strip available water molecules and water components from sugar and organic tissue. [ 141 ] The burning of coal and/or petroleum by industry and power plants generates sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) that reacts with atmospheric water and oxygen to produce sulfurous acid (H 2 SO 3 ). [ 142 ]
The Sredneuralsk Copper Smelting Plant (SUMZ) in the Ural mountains, founded by metals magnate Iskander Makhmudov, provides oleum - also known as fuming sulphuric acid - used in the Tambov, Kazan ...
Chemical pulping involves dissolving lignin in order to extract the cellulose from the wood fiber. The different processes of chemical pulping include the Kraft process, which uses caustic soda and sodium sulfide and is the most common; alternatively, the use of sulfurous acid is known as the sulfite process, the neutral sulfite semichemical is treated as a third process separate from sulfite ...
One of the first chemicals to be produced in large amounts through industrial processes was sulfuric acid. In 1736 pharmacist Joshua Ward developed a process for its production that involved heating sulfur with saltpeter, allowing the sulfur to oxidize and combine with water. It was the first practical production of sulphuric acid on a large scale.