Importance of Sulphuric Acid

By Rohit

Category: chemistry

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Sulfuric Acid, previously spelled as Sulphuric Acid, is also known as Oil of Vitriol. It is chemically represented as H2SO4. An alchemist named Jabir ibn Hayyan founded this strong acid in the 8th century. The acid owes its name “Oil of Vitriol” to its founder.
Sulfuric Acid is a colorless, odorless and clear liquid. It is completely miscible in water and the resultant solution is exothermic. The global production of Sulfuric Acid was more than 160 million tons in the year 2001. This production had a value of nearly US$7.5 billion.


Uses of Sulfuric Acid:

The manufacturing potency of a country can be understood from the Sulfuric Acid production of that country.

The major uses are:

a) Almost 60% of the entire volume of Sulfuric Acid produced globally is utilized in the manufacture of Phosphoric Acid. Phosphoric Acid is needed to produce Phosphate fertilizers, and Trisodium Phosphate used in detergents. The “wet method” is employed to produce Phosphoric Acid with the help of Phosphate rock. There is a formation of more than 100 million tons of Phosphoric Acid every year, by the “wet method”.

b) Large volumes of Sulfuric Acid are used in the iron and steel industry. The strong mineral acid helps in removing scale (pickling), rust and oxidation from steel billets and rolled-sheets. It is essential to ensure that this removal is done before selling the sheets and billets to the end-users like the manufactures of automobiles and household appliances.
The acid used in this removal purpose is later recycled in a Spent Acid Regeneration plant. The used acid undergoes combustion in this plant to produce Sulfur Dioxide and Sulfur Trioxide, which can then be utilized in the production of fresh Sulfuric Acid. Today, industries, which need to use large quantities of Sulfuric Acid regularly, all possess these Spent Acid Regeneration plants to save themselves the repeated costs and hassles of buying fresh acid and disposing spent acid.

c) Paper Maker’s Alum or Aluminium Sulfate is manufactured from Sulfuric Acid with the help pf Bauxite.
If tiny proportions of soap and Aluminium Sulfate are made to react on fibers of paper pulp, the reaction produces jelly-like Aluminium Carboxylates. These cause the thickening and coagulation of the paper pulp fibers to form a solid, hard surface of paper.

d) Aluminium Sulfate can produce Aluminium Hydroxide, which acts as a purifier at water treatment plants. It also helps in bettering the taste of water.

e) The coking plants serving the iron and steel plants commonly produce a by-product called Ammonium Sulfate. This is an excellent Nitrogen fertilizer. The thermal decomposition of coal produces Ammonia. When treated with waste Sulfuric Acid, this Ammonia crystallizes out as a brown-colored salt (Ammonium Sulfate), which is then used for agricultural and chemical purposes.

f) Sulfuric Acid is used in the production of Hydrochloric Acid from salt according to the Mannheim Process.

g) Sulfuric Acid, in its concentrated form, is also used as a dehydrating agent.

h) Refining of petroleum is also another area where Sulfuric Acid is used.