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Contact process
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Contact process
The contact process is a method of producing sulfuric acid in the high concentrations needed for industrial processes. Platinum was originally used as the catalyst for this reaction; however, because it is susceptible to reacting with arsenic impurities in the sulfur feedstock, vanadium(V) oxide (V2O5) has since been preferred.
This process was patented in 1831 by British vinegar merchant Peregrine Phillips. In addition to being a far more economical process for producing concentrated sulfuric acid than the previous lead chamber process, the contact process also produces sulfur trioxide and oleum.
In 1890 John Brown Francis Herreshoff developed a form of the contact catalytic process for the company of which he was a partner.
In 1901 Eugen de Haën patented the basic process involving combining sulfur dioxide and oxygen in the presence of vanadium oxides, producing sulfur trioxide which was easily absorbed into water, producing sulfuric acid. This process was improved remarkably by shrinking the particle size of the catalyst (e.g. ≤ 5000 microns), a process discovered by two chemists of BASF in 1914.
The process can be divided into four stages:
Purification of the air and sulfur dioxide (SO2) is necessary to avoid catalyst poisoning (i.e. removing catalytic activities). The gas is then washed with water and dried with sulfuric acid.
To conserve energy, the mixture is heated by exhaust gases from the catalytic converter by heat exchangers.
Sulfur dioxide and dioxygen then react as follows:
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Contact process
The contact process is a method of producing sulfuric acid in the high concentrations needed for industrial processes. Platinum was originally used as the catalyst for this reaction; however, because it is susceptible to reacting with arsenic impurities in the sulfur feedstock, vanadium(V) oxide (V2O5) has since been preferred.
This process was patented in 1831 by British vinegar merchant Peregrine Phillips. In addition to being a far more economical process for producing concentrated sulfuric acid than the previous lead chamber process, the contact process also produces sulfur trioxide and oleum.
In 1890 John Brown Francis Herreshoff developed a form of the contact catalytic process for the company of which he was a partner.
In 1901 Eugen de Haën patented the basic process involving combining sulfur dioxide and oxygen in the presence of vanadium oxides, producing sulfur trioxide which was easily absorbed into water, producing sulfuric acid. This process was improved remarkably by shrinking the particle size of the catalyst (e.g. ≤ 5000 microns), a process discovered by two chemists of BASF in 1914.
The process can be divided into four stages:
Purification of the air and sulfur dioxide (SO2) is necessary to avoid catalyst poisoning (i.e. removing catalytic activities). The gas is then washed with water and dried with sulfuric acid.
To conserve energy, the mixture is heated by exhaust gases from the catalytic converter by heat exchangers.
Sulfur dioxide and dioxygen then react as follows: