Conclusion

Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is a clear, oily mineral acid that has a boiling point of approximately 554F (290C). It is made from the mineral sulfur. More than 80% of all sulfur produced is used to make sulfuric acid. Because of the acid's strength and high boiling point, it is useful in making other acids. Sulfuric acid alone dissolves many metals; in combination with hydrochloric acid (a mixture called aqua regia), it can even dissolve gold and platinum. Diluting sulfuric acid with water can be dangerous because the reaction releases a lot of heat. To prevent explosive spattering, the acid must be added to the water, rather than vice versa. Scientists probably learned to make sulfuric acid some time after the year 1000. Around 1300, sulfuric acid was first described by alchemists. The alchemists called sulfuric acid oil of vitriol, a reference to its corrosive nature. In 1595, a German alchemist named Andreas Libavius (c. 1540-1616) wrote clear instructions on how to prepare sulfuric acid as well as other chemical substances. When sulfuric acid and other strong acids became widely available during the Middle Ages, they launched an experimental revolution, enabling alchemists to quickly decompose substances without high temperatures.

Methods of producing sulfuric acid have evolved over the centuries. The first small factory for manufacturing acids and other chemicals was set up by German chemist Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604-1670) in the mid-1600s. In 1746, British chemist John Roebuck (17181794) developed an inexpensive process for producing larger quantities of sulfuric acid by using sturdy lead containers instead of glass jars. By the late 1700s, sulfuric acid had become an important industrial chemical. French chemist Jean Antoine Claude Chaptal (1756-1832) established a sulfuric acid manufacturing plant at Montpellier in 1781, which introduced commercial production of the acid in France. A newer method of making sulfuric acid, called the contact process, was invented in 1831 by a British vinegar manufacturer. In this method, sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) and air are converted catalytically into sulfur trioxide (SO3), a gas that combines explosively with water to form sulfuric acid. The reaction is controlled by first dissolving the gas in concentrated sulfuric acid. Because of the purity of the acid produced, the contact process replaced the lead-chamber process during the late 1800s.

The sulfuric acid industry has grown with the demand for organic chemicals. At first, America depended on Europe for its supply of sulfur and other raw industrial chemicals. But around 1900 German-American chemical engineer Herman Frasch (1851-1914) invented a way to produce sulfur from deep underground deposits in the Gulf Coast, giving America its own supply of raw material for making sulfuric acid.

Nearly all manufactured products that we use today, like gasoline, detergents, and batteries, depend in some way on sulfuric acid for their production. Industry uses it in greater quantities than any other chemical. That is why industrial production of sulfuric acid is an excellent indicator of a nation's general economic prosperity.

Nearly 70% of today's sulfuric acid production goes into fertilizers.Oil refining, particularly gasoline purification, uses the next greatest amount of the acid. The steel industry also uses large quantities. Other products made with sulfuric acid include textiles, paint, explosives, dyes, fabrics, pesticides, medicines, and synthetic rubber. In 1998, annual consumption of sulfuric acid in the United States was close to 50 million tons.