Rio Tinto Rössing Foundation

Rio Tinto Rössing Foundation

Jegede Samson Abiodun: Education Officer for Physical Science
Jegede Samson Abiodun: Education Officer for Physical Science
Grade 11-12 Chemistry Teaching Notes: 36
Grade 11-12 Chemistry Teaching Notes: 36

Lesson 39
18 June 2010

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)

This is a gaseous compound of sulphur and oxygen.

Properties of sulfur dioxide

 It is a colorless gas
 It has a choking smell
 It is very poisonous
 It is soluble in water producing an acidic solution

Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)

 This is one of the most strong acids

 Some of the ways sulfuric acid is formed are as follow:

 Sulfur dioxide + water  Sulfuric acid

SO2(g) + H2O(l)  H2SO4(aq)

 Sulfur trioxide + water  sulfric acid

SO3(g) + H2O(l)  H2SO4(aq)

 Oleum + water  sulfric acid

H2S2O7 (l) + H2O(l)  H2SO4(aq)

Metal reaching process

 Leaching is the process of extracting a substance from a solid by dissolving it in a

liquid.

 In the chemical processing industry, leaching is known as extraction method.

 Leaching has a variety of commercial applications, including separation of metal

from ore using acid.
 Sulfuric acid is used in the leaching process to extract metal from theirs at
Rossing Mine