Sulfuric acid is by far the largest single product of the chemical industry. The chamber process for its preparation on the scale required by the Leblanc process might be regarded as the most important long-term contribution of the latter.
Chamber process
When sulfur is burned in air, sulfur dioxide is formed, and this, when combined with water, gives sulfurous acid. To form sulfuric acid, the dioxide is combined with oxygen to form the trioxide, which is then combined with water. A technique to form the trioxide, called the chamber process, developed in the early days of the operation of the Leblanc process. In this technique the reaction between sulfur dioxide and oxygen takes place in the presence of water and of oxides of nitrogen. Because the reaction is rather slow, sufficient residence time must be provided for the mixed gases to react. This gaseous mixture is highly corrosive, and the reaction must be carried out in containers made of lead.
Contact process
Lead is a material awkward to use in construction, and the process cannot deliver acid more concentrated than about 78 percent without special treatment. Therefore, the chamber process has been largely replaced by the contact process, in which the reaction takes place in a hot reactor, over a platinum or vanadium compound catalyst, a substance that increases the speed of the reaction without becoming chemically involved.
Uses
Of the large world production of sulfuric acid, almost half goes to the manufacture of superphosphate and related fertilizers. Other uses of the acid are so multifarious as almost to defy enumeration, notable ones being the manufacture of high-octane gasoline, of titanium dioxide (a white pigment, also a filler for some plastics, and for paper), explosives, rayon, the processing of uranium, and the pickling of steel.
Sources of sulfur
Because sulfuric acid is indispensable to so many industries, its primary raw material is of the greatest importance. The needed sulfur is obtainable from a number of sources. Originally, sulfur came chiefly from certain volcanic deposits in Sicily. By the beginning of the 20th century this source was insufficient, but the supply was augmented by sulfur that occurs underground in the southern United States. This sulfur is not mined but is recovered by the so-called Frasch process, in which the sulfur is melted underground by hot water and the mixture brought to the surface in liquid form.
Other sources of sulfur include the ore iron pyrite, an iron-sulfur compound that can be burned to produce sulfur dioxide, and some natural gases, called sour gas, that contain appreciable quantities of hydrogen sulfide. Certain metal sulfides, such as those of zinc and copper, are contained in the ores of those metals. When these ores are roasted, sulfur dioxide is given off. Sulfur is usually shipped in its elemental form rather than in the form of sulfuric acid.
Under some circumstances, the sulfuric acid stage of manufacture can be avoided. Ammonium sulfate, a fertilizer, is normally made by causing ammonia to react with sulfuric acid. In many parts of the world, abundant supplies of calcium sulfate in any of several mineral forms can be used to make the ammonium sulfate by combining it with ammonia and water. This process brings the sulfur in the calcium sulfate deposits into use. Because deposits of calcium sulfate throughout the world are extensive, development of such a process would make the available resources of sulfur almost limitless.
The sulfur present in low percentages in fossil fuels is a notorious source of air pollution in most industrial countries. Removal of sulfur from crude oil adds to the sulfur supply and reduces pollution. It is less easy to remove the sulfur directly from coal.
Carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide is made by the reaction of carbon and sulfur. Carbon comes from natural gas, and the sulfur may be supplied in the elemental form, as hydrogen sulfide, or as sulfur dioxide. The chief uses of carbon disulfide are for the manufacture of rayon and for regenerated cellulose film. These two products are made in such large quantity that carbon disulfide is a heavy chemical, by any standard.
Fertilizers
Fertilizers represent one of the largest market commodities for the chemical industry. A very large industry in all industrialized countries, it is a very important one for introduction as early as possible into developing countries.
The crucial elements that have to be added to the soil in considerable quantities in the form of fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, in each case in the form of a suitable compound. These are the major fertilizer elements, or macronutrients. Calcium, magnesium, and sulfur are regarded as secondary nutrients; and it is sometimes necessary to add them. Numerous other elements are required only in trace quantities; certain soils may be deficient in boron, copper, zinc, or molybdenum, making it necessary to add very small quantities of these. As a great industry, however, fertilizers are based on the three elements mentioned above.
Nitrogen is present in vast quantities in the air, making up about 78 percent of the atmosphere. It enters the chemical industry as ammonia, produced through fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, described below. For phosphorus and potassium, it is necessary to find mineral sources and to convert them into a form suitable for use. These three elements are not used in fertilizer only, however; they have other uses and interact with other facets of the chemical industry, making a highly complicated picture. A schematized overview of some of these interactions is presented in .