APPLICATION CHEMICAL INDUSTRY Sulfuric Acid

Anodic protection against acids has been used in a number of processes in the chemical industry, as well as during storage and transport. It is also successful in geometrically complicated containers and tubings [12], Carbon steel can be protected from nitric and sulfuric acids. In the latter case, temperature and concentration set application limits [17]. At temperatures of up to 120°C, efficient protection can only be achieved with concentrations over 90% [ 18]. At concentrations between 67 and 90%, anodic protection can be used at up to 140°C with CrNi steels [19]. 

Alcohol sulfates were first obtained either by the reaction of olefins with sulfuric acid or by sulfation of alcohols produced by hydrogenolysis of oils and fats with sulfuric acid. With the advent of petrochemistry and the progress of chemistry and chemical engineering, alcohol sulfates and their derivatives have become one of the most important surfactants and are produced in large amounts using techniques different from those originally used. They are based on a wide range of alcohols and have found applications in almost all domestic and industrial sectors. 

Two of the most important classes of chemical compounds are acids and bases. A small sampling of acids and bases found around the home demonstrates their importance in daily life. A few of these include fruit juice, aspirin, milk, ammonia, baking soda, vinegar, and soap. Beyond their presence in numerous household items, acids and bases are key ingredients in the chemical process industry. More sulfuric acid is produced than any other chemical in the United States with an annual production of 40 million tons. While the commercial applications of acids and bases illustrate their importance in everyday life, on a more fundamental level each one of us inherited our characteristics and genetic make-up through the acid DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. 

Combustion of Sulfur. For most chemical process applications requiring sulfur dioxide gas or sulfurous acid, sulfur dioxide is prepared by the burning of sulfur or pyrite [1309-36-0], FeS2. A variety of sulfur and pyrite burners have been developed for sulfuric acid and for the pulp (qv) and paper (qv) industries, which produce and immediately consume about 90% of the captive sulfur dioxide produced in the United States. Information on the European sulfur-to-sulfuric acid technology (with emphasis on Lurgi) is available (255). 

Numerous industrial applications of applied thermodynamics have been reported in the literature for engineering analysis of wide varieties of chemical systems and processes. For example, Chen and Mathias reported examples of physical property modeling for the high-density polyethylene process and for sulfuric acid plants. Here, we present two recent examples that are illustrative of numerous applications of applied thermodynamics models in the industry for various process and product development studies. 

Sulfuric acid being a key product in the chemical industry has many applications. Worldwide 65% is utilized in the manufacture of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers, whereas in Western Europe only 31% is so utilized. In the Federal Republic of Germany ca. 90% of the sulfuric acid produced is utilized in the chemical industry. 

The large volume and wide application of sulfuric acid in the chemical and petroleum refining industries has meant that the per capita production of sulfuric acid is one of the better indicators of the industrial development of a country. Less circumstantial anomalies occur in a listing of annual sulfuric acid production (Table 9.5), a chemical product, than occurs with per capita sulfur production, an extractive product. Thus, average sulfuric acid production levels of the developed countries are from 50 up to 200 kg per capita per year compared to less than 5 kg per capita for Third World countries. 

Sulfur, mainly in the form of sulfuric acid, is an enormously important industrial chemical. The amount of sulfuric acid consumed by a given nation is an indicator of that country s industrial development. Figure 15.3 illustrates applications of sulfur and sulfuric acid (see also Box 10.3). Sulfur is usually present in the form of an industrial reagent (e.g. in H2SO4 in the production of superphosphate fertilizers described in Section 14.2), and it is not necessarily present in the end product. 

Atlasol 103 EINECS 2055655 Sodium decyl sulfate Sodium decyl sulphate Sulfuric acid, decyl ester, sodium salt. Emulsifier, wetting agent, dispersant, fiber lubricant, synthetic fatliquor for textile, leather, and general industrial applications. Atlas Chemical Corp. 

Aluminum fluoride (uh-LOO-min-um FLOR-ide) is a highly stable compound that occurs as a white crystalline solid. It resists the action of even strong solvents, such as hot concentrated sulfuric acid. The compound often occurs as a hydrate containing one or more molecules of water of hydration. The most common of these hydrates has the chemical formula A1F3-3.5H20, meaning that for every two molecules of aluminum fluoride in a crystal, there are seven molecules of water. The major uses of aluminum fluoride are in a variety of applications in the chemical industry. 

OTHER COMMENTS Platinum metal is used in the manufacture of apparatus used in laboratories and industries, including thermocouples, acid-proof containers, chemical reaction vessels, platinum resistance thermometers, electrodes, etc. has found applications in dentistry, electroplating industry, and in the jewelry industry soluble platinum salts have been used as catalysts in the production of high octane gasoline, vinylesters, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals platinum metals, as well as soluble platinum salts, have been employed as oxidation catalysts in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, nitric acid from ammonia, and acetic acid soluble platinum salts have been used and reused in the reclamation of platinum ore. 

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