Português/Portuguese
Español/Spanish
????????/Greek
???/Japanese
???/Korean
??(??)/Chinese Simplified
  
 
 
 
Home About Us Product Order Now Contact Us FAQ
Chemical news sulphuric acid overview
SBR prices climbing due to increasing feedstock costs
It has been a year-long roller-coaster ride for styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) pricing, with many peaks and valleys. Now rising feedstock costs,...

Mixed outlook for US supply and demand as prices plummet
US ethane prices have slumped by more than 40% so far this year, taking the market by surprise. But, prices are poised to recover in the second half,...

Crude oil, refining and base oils - whats’ going on?
© Rex Features Lubricants and base oils represent only about 1% of global oil demand, but they have had an outsized influence on the development of...



sulphuric acid 3DSulfuric (or sulphuric) acid, H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. It is soluble in water at all concentrations. It was once known as oil of vitriol, coined by the 8th-century Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber) after his discovery of the chemical. Sulfuric acid has many applications, and is one of the top products of the chemical industry. World production in 2001 was 165 million tonnes, with an approximate value of US$8 billion. Principal uses include ore processing, fertilizer manufacturing, oil refining, wastewater processing, and chemical synthesis.

Many proteins are made of sulfur-containing amino acids (such as cysteine and methionine) which produce sulfuric acid when metabolized by the body.

Forms of sulfuric acid

Although nearly 100% sulfuric acid can be made, this loses SO3 at the boiling point to produce 98.3% acid. The 98% grade is more stable in storage, and is the usual form of what is described as concentrated sulfuric acid. Other concentrations are used for different purposes. Some common concentrations are
  • 10%, dilute sulfuric acid for laboratory use,
  • 33.5%, battery acid (used in lead-acid batteries),
  • 62.18%, chamber or fertilizer acid,
  • 77.67%, tower or Glover acid,
  • 98%, concentrated acid.
Different purities are also available. Technical grade H2SO4 is impure and often colored, but is suitable for making fertilizer. Pure grades such as US Pharmacopoeia (USP) grade are used for making pharmaceuticals and dyestuffs.

When high concentrations of SO3(g) are added to sulfuric acid, H2S2O7, called pyrosulfuric acid, fuming sulfuric acid or oleum or, less commonly, Nordhausen acid, is formed. Concentrations of oleum are either expressed in terms of% SO3 (called% oleum) or as% H2SO4 (the amount made if H2O were added); common concentrations are 40% oleum (109% H2SO4) and 65% oleum (114.6% H2SO4). Pure H2S2O7 is a solid with melting point 36°C.