1

SULFURIC ACID:
HIISTORY AND PRODUCTION PROCESS:
2 GOUP MEMBERS:

 ALI HASSAN UW-14-CH.E-BSC-016

 MUHAMMAD MUBASHIR UW-14-CH.E-BSC-017
 ADIL SANA UW-14-CH.E-BSC-018
 ZAIN ALI UW-14-CH.E-BSC-020
 BILAL ANAYAT UW-14-CH.E-BSC-051
3 OUTLINE:

 SULFURIC ACID
 HISTORY
 FAVORABLE PROCESS
 MANUFACTURING PROCESS
 PLANT COST
 ANNUAL PRODUCTION
 USES AND HAZARDS
4 SULFURIC ACID:

Sulfuric acid is a
 Highly corrosive strong mineral acid
 Molecular formula H2SO4 
 Molecular weight 98.079 g/mol
 Pungent
 Colorless to slightly yellow
 Viscous liquid
 Soluble in water
5 HISTORY:

 The origin of the first sulfuric acid is unknown.

 But it was mentioned as far back as the tenth century.
 Its preparation, by burning sulfur with saltpeter, was first described by
Valentinus in the fifteenth century.
 In 1746, Roebuck of Birmingham, England, introduced the lead chamber
process.
 Sulfuric acid was called "oil of vitriol" by medieval European alchemists
because it was prepared by roasting "green vitriol“
6 OCCURRENCE:

 Pure sulfuric acid is not encountered naturally on Earth.

 Dilute sulfuric acid is a constituent of acid rain.
 Venus
 Europa
7 NUMBER OF PROCESS:

The process for manufacturing the sulfuric acid are

 Metabisulfite method
 Lead chamber process
 Vitriol plants
 Wet sulfuric acid process
 Contact process
8 MOST FAVORABLE PROCESS:

 Contact Process
 Low cost
 Automatically controlled
 Continuous process
 Pure
 More Concentrated acid
9 HISTORY:

 The contact process was first discovered in 1831 by Phillips, an

Englishman.
 Phillips’ invention was not a commercial success for more than 40 years
10 REASONS:

 There was a lack of demand for strong acid

 Less knowledge of catalyst
 The slow progress of chemical technology
11 MANUFACTURING:
12 BURNER:

 In burner the molten sulfur is burnt in dry air to produce sulfur dioxide.
 This gas contains some impurities
 Carbon dioxide
 Nitrogen
 Chlorine
 Flourine
13 TREATMENT:

 To prevent the corrosion of burner gas

 Dry the air
 Oxidize sulfur dioxide until moisture content is below 35 mg/m3.
14 HEAT EXCHANGERS AND COOLERS:

 Before the gasses are fed to converter they are adjusted to minimum
temperature.
 REASON:
 So that the catalyst rapidly increase the speed of reaction.
 The temperature should be 425 to 440c.
 This temperature is availed by passing cool air or by adjusting heat
exchangers.
15 SULFUR PUMPS:

 They are vertical shaft centrifugal pumps which pump sulfur from pit to
atomizer in the sulfur burner.
 The are made up of cast iron.
16 ACID PUMPS:

 They are vertical shaft centrifugal pumps which circulate acid over
drying and absorption tower.
 The are made up of cast iron.
17 CONVERTER:

 In converter the conversion of so2 to so3 is take place

 There are four catalyst bed.
 In first catalyst bed 60 to 75% conversion take place.
 It works on 425 4o 440c.
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19 CONSTRUCTION:

 Heart of contact process

 Cast iron
 Stainless steel
 4 beds
 V2O5
 Inlet outlet
 Gate 3 and 4
20 CATALYST:

 Function of catalyst is to increase the reaction.

 Converter has 7% V2O5
 It can last up to 20 years. If not poison with florine.
 Dust particles can also be a problem.
21 SULFURIC ACID:

 After the converter sulfur trioxide goes to absorbing tower then it reacts
with water and forms approximately 100% sulfuric acid.
22 DOUBLE CONTACT DOUBLE
ABSORPTION METHOD:
 IN 1963 BAYER AG discovered this method
 In this process so2 and so3 are passed through absorption tower twice
to achieve high grade sulfuric acid
23 MANUFACTURING PROCESS:
24 GAS PURIFICATION:

 The sulfur dioxide gas leaving process have some impurities.

 These impurities are removed by
 Electrostatic dust precipitators
 Wash tower
 Scrubbing
25 PLANT COST:

 It is difficult o give general plant cost because it depend o

 Regional equipment cost
 Plant design
 But the double absorption plant capacity of 1800ton/day cost 25 million
dollar I 1980.
26 PRODUCTION:

  Asia 35%,
 North America (including Mexico) 24%,
 Africa 11%,
 Western Europe 10%,
 Eastern Europe and Russia 10%,
 Australia and Oceania 7%,
 South America 7%.
27 ANNUAL PRODUCTION:

World 200 million tonnes

Europe 19 million tonnes

US 35.8 million tonnes

Russia 8.6 million tonnes

28 INDUSTRIES IN PAKISTAN:

 Ittehad Chemicals Ltd..

 Global Chemical Industries Ltd. karachi
 Fazal Chemicals Pvt Ltd (FCL) lahore
 Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Ltd-Rawalpindi Sheikhupura
 Pak Chemical (Pvt) Ltd. karachi
 Sitara Chemical Industrial Ltd. Lahore
 Suraj Fertilizer Industries (Pvt) Ltd-Lahore
29 USES:

 A nation’s sulfuric acid production is a good indicator of its industrial

strength.
 The major use for sulfuric acid is in the "wet method" for the production
of phosphoric acid, used for manufacture of phosphate fertilizers.
 Another important use for sulfuric acid is for the manufacture
of aluminum sulfate, also known as paper maker's alum.
 Sulfuric acid acts as the electrolyte in lead-acid (car) batteries (lead-acid
accumulator).
 Sulfuric acid at high concentrations is frequently the major ingredient
in acidic drain cleaners.
30

 Sulfuric acid is used for a variety of other purposes in the chemical

industry.
 Sulfuric acid is used in large quantities by
the iron and steelmaking industry to remove
oxidation, rust and scaling from rolled sheet and billets prior to sale to
the automobile and major appliances industry.
31 HAZARDS:

  contact with metals in the event of a spillage can lead to the liberation
of hydrogen gas.
 The dispersal of acid aerosols and gaseous sulfur dioxide is an additional
hazard of fires involving sulfuric acid.
  skin contact leading to burns 
 Exposure to aerosols at high concentrations leads to immediate and
severe irritation of the eyes, respiratory tract and mucous membranes
 risk of subsequent pulmonary edema
 chance of lung cancer
  The spinal cord is most often affected
32 REFERENCES:

 Shreve Chemical Process Industries

 Wikipedia
 Thenewencyclopedia
 Encarta
33

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