Description

Technical Parameters

Sulfuric acid production plant

1.Sulfuric acid introduction

Sulfuric acid is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen, with the molecular formula H₂SO₄. It is a colorless, odorless, and viscous liquid that is miscible with water. Sulfuric acid is a vital inorganic compound characterized by strong acidity and oxidizing properties, finding widespread applications across multiple industries.

The major application of sulfuric acid include of chemical manufacturing, metal processing, battery industry, pesticide, drying agent, metallurgy and petroleum, agricultural and fertilizer.

2.Process description of sulfuric acid production plant

Normally, sulfur, H₂S and FeS₂ are used as raw materials for sulphuric acid production. The conventional methods include contract process (DCDA) and wet sulfuric acid process (WSA), the former is the major one.

In the first step, sulfur is burned to produce sulfur dioxide.

S(s) + O₂ → SO₂ (−297 kJ/mol)

The sulfur dioxide is oxidized to sulfur trioxide by oxygen in the presence of a catalyst. This reaction is reversible and the formation of the sulfur trioxide is exothermic.

2 SO₂ + O₂ ⇌ 2 SO₃ (−198 kJ/mol)

The sulfur trioxide is absorbed into 97–98% H₂SO₄ to form oleum (H₂S₂O₇), also known as fuming sulfuric acid. The oleum is then diluted with water to form concentrated sulfuric acid.

H₂SO₄ + SO₃ → H₂S₂O₇

H₂S₂O₇ + H₂O → 2 H₂SO₄

Directly dissolving SO₃ in water, called the "wet sulfuric acid process", because the reaction is extremely exothermic, resulting in a hot aerosol of sulfuric acid that requires condensation and separation.

3.What can we do in a sulfuric acid production plant project