Sulphuric Acids: Group Members: Samoi Oladipo Alliyah Lindsay

Sulphuric acids
Group Members:
Samoi Oladipo
Alliyah Lindsay
Objectives:
By the end of the class student should be able to;
Define contact process
Describe the contact process for the manufacture of sulphuric
acid
Discuss the industrial importance of compounds of sulphur
Assess the impact of the sulphuric acid industry
Contact process
Well the contact process is basically an industrial method of
producing sulphuric acid. The materials need are a source of
sulphur dioxide, air, water, and a catalyst. The steps involve in
the manufacturing of sulphuric acid are;
1. The preparation of sulphur dioxide
2.Oxidation of sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide
3. Hydration of sulphur trioxide to sulphuric acid.
Preparation of sulphur dioxide
This can be produced by;
1. Burning sulphur in excess air
S(s) + O(g) SO2(g)
2. Heating sulphide ores like pyrite in an excess of air
4fes2(s) + 11O2(g) 2fe2(S) + 8so2(g)
3. Decomposing calcium sulphate in the presence of coke
2CaSo4(s) + C(s) 2Cao(s) + co2(g) + 2So2(g)
Oxidation of sulphuric dioxide to sulphur
trioxide
Firstly sulphur dioxide is mixed with excess air and pass
through an electrostatic precipitator which removes dust and
impurities. Then the purified sulphur dioxide reacts with
oxygen in the presence of catalyst vanadium oxide(Va2O5), to
form sulphuric trioxide, the anhydride of the sulphuric acid.
2So2(g) + O2(g) 2So3(g) H =-196kJmol-1
 According to Le chatelier’s principle, low temperature and high pressure would
shift the position of equilibrium to the right and increase the yield of sulphur
trioxide.
In other words the forward reaction is favored at low temperature to produce a
maximum yield of SO3. A comprised temperature of about 400-450⁰c is used
with catalyst to produce a fairly high proportion of sulphur trioxide. The
catalyst has no effect on the position equilibrium. It only increase the rate of
reaction.
Additionally, a high pressure gives a higher yield of so3 in the equilibrium
mixture based on the principle. However, the reaction must be done close to
atmospheric pressure.
Moreover, the mixture of sulphur dioxide and oxygen into the reactor is equal
proportion by volume. And based on the Avogadro law states that equal volume
of gas at the same temperature pressure contain equal number of moles. This
means that the gases have a ration of 1:1. According to the le chantelier’s
principle excess oxygen will shift the equilibrium to the the right which have
less gaseous moles. Since the oxygen comes from the air, this is a very cheap
way of increasing the conversion of SO2 to SO3
Hydration of sulphur trioxide to sulphuric
acid
What really happened here is that sulphur trioxide is
first dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid to form
oleum.
H2SO4(l) + SO3(g) H2SO7(l)
This is then dilute with water to produce concentrated
sulphuric acid.
H2S2SO7(l) + H2O(l) 2H2SO4(l)
Uses of compound of sulphur
 Most sulphur is used to produce sulphuric dioxide to make sulphuric acid.
 Sulphur is used in the vulcanization of natural rubber to improve its
elasticity and tensile strength.
 Sulphur dioxide is a reducing agent and is used for bleaching wool, straw
and paper.
 Sulphur dioxide is useful as an antioxidant in food preservation. It is
sometimes used as a preservative in alcoholic drinks and dried fruits. This
prevent growth of mould and its acidity kill bacteria.
 Sulphuric acid is used in the manufacturer of fertilizer, detergents, car
batteries etc.
 H2so4 is also used in petroleum refining.
Impact of sulphuric acid Industry
In simply words, sulphuric acid production reduces sulphur
dioxide emission which may lead to acid rain. This can be
reduced by recycling unreacted SO2 and scrubbing tail gas with
basic solution such as ammonium or sodium hydroxide.
Large amount of sulphuric acid are used as catalyst in chemical
industry and need to be replaced with fresh concentrated acid
when dilute or contaminated. The spent sulphuric acid from the
chemical industry is regarded and recycled.
Sulphuric acid production is a net producer of energy. Heat is
evolved in the process is used to turn water into steam which is
used to generate electricity.
During production , handling and storage of sulphuric acid there
is always a risk of accidental leaks which may impact the
environment. And precaution have to be taken to reduce these
possibilities.
Spent catalyst from the contact process can either be disposed in
a suitable licensed landfill site r or its vanadium content can be
recycled. Recycling and regenerating are used to prevent spent
acid and catalyst from becoming a waste and a problem for the
environment.

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