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The lead chamber process was an industrial method used to produce sulfuric acid in large quantities. It has been largely supplanted by the contact process.. In 1746 in Birmingham, England, John Roebuck began producing sulfuric acid in lead-lined chambers, which were stronger and less expensive and could be made much larger than the glass containers that had been used previously.
John Roebuck of Kinneil FRS FRSE (1718 – 17 July 1794) was an English industrialist, inventor, mechanical engineer, and physician who played an important role in the Industrial Revolution and who is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture of sulfuric acid.
Although nearly 100% sulfuric acid solutions can be made, the subsequent loss of SO 3 at the boiling point brings the concentration to 98.3% acid. The 98.3% grade, which is more stable in storage, is the usual form of what is described as "concentrated 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.
This was the first practical production of sulphuric acid on a large scale. [12] Ward was in many ways quite generous to those living in poverty. He opened hospitals for the poor in Westminster and the City of London, and the clinics did not charge people for their service. It is estimated that he gave around the sum of £3,000 to charity.
Herreshoff invented and built a water-jacketed furnace and quickly became a partner in the company. [4] From the 1870s to the 1880s, the sulfuric acid produced by the company from the mineral brimstone was stronger than the industry standard, thus upsetting their competition, and greatly increasing their market share. [1]
He was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back to a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the American Chemical Society, serving as president in 1918 and 1919.
In his Methods of Chemical Nomenclature (1787), Lavoisier invented the system of naming and classification still largely in use today, including names such as sulfuric acid, sulfates, and sulfites. In 1785, Berthollet was the first to introduce the use of chlorine gas as a commercial bleach.