Sulfuric acid is prepared industrially by the reaction of water with sulfur trioxide, which in turn is made by chemical combination of sulfur dioxide and oxygen either by the contact process or the chamber process. The lead chamber process is used to produce much of the acid used to make fertilizers. It produces a relatively dilute acid (62% - 78%). The contact process produces a more concentrated acid but requires purer raw materials and the use of expensive catalysts. Some sulfuric acid is also made from ferrous sulfate waste solutions from pickling iron and steel and from waste acid sludge from oil refineries.
The uses of sulfuric acid are so varied that the volume of its production provides an approximate index of general industrial activity. Its main use is in phosphate fertilizer production, both superphosphate of lime and ammonium sulfate. It is widely also used to manufacture chemicals, e.g., in making hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfate salts, synthetic detergents, dyes and pigments, explosives, drugs, other acids, parchment paper, glue and wood preservatives. It is used in the purification of petroleum to wash impurities out of gasoline and other refinery products.Sulfuric acid is used in processing metals, e.g., in pickling (cleaning) of metal, electroplating baths, nonferrous metallurgy. Rayon is made with sulfuric acid. In one of its most familiar applications, it serves as the electrolyte in the lead-acid storage battery commonly used in motor vehicles (acid for this use, containing about 33% H2SO4 and with specific gravity about 1.25, is often called battery acid).
The largest sources of elemental sulfur are petroleum refining and natural gas processing at numerous facilities throughout the United States. Elemental sulfur is mined at a few locations worldwide. Smaller quantities of sulfur are recovered as sulfuric acid at nonferrous metal smelters, and minor amounts are recovered at coking operations. Between 11 and 12 Mt/yr of domestic sulfur in all forms are produced. The United States imports about 3 Mt/yr of sulfur as elemental sulfur and sulfuric acid. Exports total less than 1 Mt/yr. The majority of U.S. imports come from Canada, the largest sulfur exporter in the world. Annual apparent consumption is almost 14 Mt.
Keith_McClary wrote:In this discussion:
http://www.cuug.ab.ca/kmcclary/sulfur/
You mean Kerr-Mc Evil?aflatoxin wrote: Although they are a very large and very evil corporation, they eat every part of the buffalo.
Keith_McClary wrote:Russian Scientist Suggests Burning Sulfur in Stratosphere to Fight Global Warming
Just to put this in perspective, the amount of sulfur he is proposing to burn is about half of this stockpile:
http://www.cuug.ab.ca/kmcclary/sulfur/
BTW, the stockpile has been almost all melted down and shipped away in the year since I made the webpage.
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