CERTIFICATE

This is certified that Nadir Ali ,Muhammad Asif , Sheraz Ali and M,Humza have carried out this
project entitled “Production of Sulphuric Acid by using Cesium as a catalyst in Contact process
” for the award of Bachelor of Technology from university of engineering and technology,
Lahore under my supervision. The project embodies result of original work and studies carried
out by student themselves and the contents of the project do not form the basis for the award
of any other degree to the candidates or to anybody else.

Dr. Muhammad Danish Engr. M. Imran

Head of Department chemical & polymer Lecturer
Engineering

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 Project Proposal
Topic: “Production of Sulfuric acid and Oleum using Vanadium Cesium as a
catalyst in Contact process”

Sulfuric acid:
Sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive strong mineral acid with the molecular formula
H2SO4 and its structure has been shown in the figure below:

OH S OH

Beaumont, JJ; Leveton, J; Knox, K; Bloom, T; McQuiston, T; Young, M; Goldsmith, R; Steenland, NK; Brown, DP; Halperin,
WE (1987). "Lung cancer mortality in workers exposed to sulfuric acid mist and other acid mists". J Natl Cancer Inst. 79

There are different names of sulfuric acid as given below,

 King of compound
 Dipping acid
 Mattling acid
 Oil of vitriol
 Dehydrating Sulphate
 Battery acid
 Electrolyte acid
It is colorless to slightly yellow viscous liquid which is soluble
in water at all concentrations. Sometimes, it is dyed dark brown during production to alert
people to its hazards.

Uses:
Sulfuric acid is mainly used in the production of fertilizer and other chemical manufacturing
like HCL, nitric acid, synthetic detergent, pulp and paper industry, pigment, wastewater
treatment and batteries petroleum, fiber, plastics and detergent etc. The initial review of
literature revealed that the current production capacity of Sulfuric acid was around 200 million
tonnes per year, and is currently growing at about 1.2% per year

Process selection:
There are two main processes for manufacturing of sulphuric acid namely
 Lead chamber process and

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  Contact process

Lead chamber process:

Method of producing sulfuric acid by oxidizing sulfur dioxide with moist air,
using gaseous nitrogen oxides as catalysts, the reaction taking place primarily in a series of
large, boxlike chambers of lead sheet. The lead-chamber process has been largely supplanted in
modern industrial production by the contact process.
Lead Chamber process produces sulphuric acid of concentration less than 80 % and it is
expensive as compared to contact process [Edward M. Jones, "Chamber Process Manufacture of Sulfuric
Acid", Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Nov 1950, Vol 42, No. 11, pp 2208–10.].The major disadvantage
includes the limitations in throughput, quality and concentration of the acid produced [F. A.
Gooch and C. F. Walker, Outlines of Inorganic Chemistry, MacMillan, London, 1905, pp 274.].

Principle:
SO2 is obtained by burning sulphur.
S(s) + O2 (g) SO2 (g)
H2SO4 is obtained by the oxidation of SO2 in presence of NO catalyst.
SO2 (g) + O2 (g) + H2O (l) H2SO4 (l)
Two mechanism has been subjected:
Berzelius mechanism:
2NO (g) + O2 (g) 2NO2 (g)
NO2 (g) + SO2 (g) SO3 (g) + NO (g)
SO3 (g) + H2O (l) H2SO4 (l)
Navy and Lunge mechanism:
2NO (g) + O2 (g) 2NO2 (g)
NO (g) + NO2 (g) + 2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) + H2O (l) 2(NO.HSO4) (Nitrosyl hydrogen sulphate)
2(NO.HSO4) (l) + H2O (l) 2H2SO4 (l) + NO (g) +NO2 (g)
Main Equipment:
Pyrite burner or sulphur burner:
Dust chamber
Nitre pot
Glover tower
Lead Chamber
Gay-Lussac’s tower
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 Purification of chamber acid

Contact process:

Conversions using single absorption contact process were typically about 97-98 percent [ "Sulfuric
Acid 98%" (PDF). rhodia.com. 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2014.]. While in current double absorption flow
process, achievable conversions are as high as 99.7 percent [Davenport, William George & King, Matthew
J. (2006). Sulfuric acid manufacture: analysis, control and optimization. Elsevier. pp. 8, 13. ISBN 978-0-08-044428-4.
All known new plants use the contact process although some older
Retrieved 23 December 2011..].
chamber process plants may still be in use. Contact process has been best of production
hydrogen teraoxosulphate acid otherwise known as sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid has a great
importance to any industries as raw material. There are many steps involved in the production
of H2SO4 via Contact Process include the following
 Preparation of SO2
 Purification of SO2
 Oxidation of SO2
 Absorption of SO3
 Dilution of Oleum
Steps involved in Contact Process
1. Making of SO2 by burning a sulfur in excess of air.
S(s) +O2 (g) SO2 (g)
2. Converting SO2 into SO3
SO2 (g) + ½ O2 (g) V2O5 SO3 (g)
3. Converting SO3 into Sulfuric acid
SO3 (g) + H2O (l) H2SO4

Process flow diagrams:

1) POF 1262-A

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2)

International Process Plants Hamilton Business Center 17A Marlen Drive Hamilton, NJ 08691
3)

SPM Malaysia IPTV, Aug 29, 2014

We select the 1st one PFD because it is using in POF. It is using in single absorption system in
single contact process. But other two PFDs are using for double absorption system and we
want to prepare it by single absorption system because it gives us 99.5% concentration.

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List of Major equipments in Contact process:
Main equipments being used in this process are
o Furnace
o Heat exchanger
o Convertor
o Absorber

Main parameters involved in H2SO4 Synthesis:

 Temperature: Here we consider equilibrium and rate of reaction.
 Pressure: We put in mind economic and equilibrium factor.
 Catalysis: Here equilibrium and rate of reaction
Selection of catalyst:
A commercial sulphur dioxide- converting catalyst consists of 4-9 wt % vanadium pentaoxide,
V2O5, in this catalytic process platinum had been used in the past but due to its reaction with
impurities of sulfur dioxide in catalytic tower and high cost it is not used now a days. [(1) Tandy, G. H.,
J. Appl. Chem. 6, 68 (1956) and the references therein. (2) Villadsen, J., and Livbjerg, H., Catal. Rev. Sci. Eng., 17, 203 (1978) (3) Boghosian, S.,
Fehrmann, R., Bjerrum, N. J., and Papatheodorou, G. N., J. Catalysis 119, 121 (1989) (4) Villadsen, J., Catalyst for Oxidation of Sulfur Dioxide, U.S.
Patent Office, Patent No. 4,193,894 (3/18/1980)]

Why we need it:

However optimizing the production process is of great importance. Of course the aim of every
production is to increase the yield and minimize cost. Optimizing this process is done to achieve
the following
 Reduction in the cost of production.
 Increase in yield or productivity.
 Affordable market price.
 Increase the quality of product.
Show all catalysts, their pros and cons and then select one with reference.
Capacity selection: (100 TPD with concentration of 99.5%):
In 2016, the global sulfuric acid market was valued at US$10.1 billion. It is estimated that this
figure will reach US$15 billion by 2025. For this project, Capacity has to be selected on the basis
of sulfuric acid import in Pakistan. Every year Pakistan import sulfuric acid of billions of dollars.
So we are going to produce the amount of acid required to fulfill the requirement of country as
well as export to other countries.

import( Kg V Year)
100,000 84,542
80,000 66,039
47,329 48,932
43,538
60,000 38,279
32,387
Kg

30,851 28,078 31,950

40,000
20,000 2,0042,836 2,6938,053
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
year
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As seen maximum import in 2010 after that due to energy crises and security issues, poor
government, interest rate, lack of foreign investment, mostly industries closed if government
provide necessary facilities then again industrial revolution can be happened. The project
mainly comprise of the basic parts of the sulphuric acid manufacturing plant, the
equipment’s and the catalyst used, flow of materials in and out of the equipments, their
materials of construction and energy balances, heat duty of the heat exchangers, weight of the
catalyst required and pollution control.
Manufacturers of Sulfuric acid in Pakistan:
Following are the industries that produces sulfuric acid in Pakistan
 Exide Pakistan 16500 MTPA
 Tufail Chemicals 20000 TPA
 Siraj Chemicals 75000 STPA
 Internation Chemicals 300 MTPA
 Hazara fertilizers 110 MTPD
 Amber Chemicals 50 MTPD
 Akbari Chemical 25 MTPD

Application:
 Sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive strong mineral acid with the molecular formula H2SO4.
 It is a colorless to slightly yellow viscous liquid which is soluble in water at all
concentrations.
 Strong oxidizing and dehydrating agent.
 Density: 1.84 g/cm³
 Molar mass: 98.079 g/mol
 boiling point: 337 °C