Chemistry Equation

[glyphgoat]

I'm looking for help balancing a chemical equation.

I've read that sulfuric acid can synthesized by heating sulfur and sodium/potassium nitrate and dissolving the resulting gas in water.

I'm guessing that the gas would be sulfur dioxide, the solution sulfurous acid, then oxidizing into sulfuric acid from sulfurous acid and atmospheric oxygen.

Can someone show me a balanced equation of the sulfur/saltpeter reaction? and point out any flaws in my thinking?

 

I was also thinking of dissolving the sulfur dioxide in hydrogen peroxide to directly create sulfuric acid.

 

thanks

[frosch45]

Please use the search engine.... its at the top of the page.

 

And your above method, don't think so.... Where did you read that? One thing that I am 90% sure of is that oxidizing sulfurous acid with air will not make sulfuric acid...

 

Heating sulfur, well actually, burning it in oxygen, will give you sulfur dioxide. If you oxidize this from hydrogen peroxide, then you can get a weak sulfuric acid. But its still just easier to buy some from a chemical supplier. Getting a sufficient concentration of H2O2 will be pretty hard though with the hazmat fees. I've seen sulfuric acid for sale at a home improvement store.

 

But seriously, search "sulfuric acid" in the search field and read a little bit.

[glyphgoat]

Thank you. You didn't help me. By advice from a chemistry book from 1937 I looked up the lead chamber process, the first production of sulfuric acid on a large scale. Where SO2 Is oxidized to SO3 with oxides of nitrogen as a catalyst.

2SO2 + O2 → 2SO3

Dissolved into water forming sulfuric acid. Found everything on wikipedia.

 

P.S. Where's the fun in just buying everything?

[John Cuthber]

The lead chamber process produces SO3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_chamber_process

Oxidation of sulphurous to sulphuric acid ought to take placre in air, I'm not sure how fast it is.

I'd also not like to have to balance the equation of the sulphur/ KNO3 reaction, partly because there's not much point. The reaction will not go perfectly and there will be by products.

[frosch45]

I honestly didn't mean to be rude. Unfortunately, text cannot easily display emotions.

 

You are quite correct that SO3 is used to make sulfuric acid in the industry. I have never heard of nitrogen oxides as a catalyst; that may be one way, however, vanadium(V) oxide is used more commonly I believe. It catalyzes the reaction of SO2 to SO3 around 400 C. The sulfur trioxide is then dissolved in oleum, not water. It is true that it could be dissolved in water, however, that is highly exothermic and is not very practical. Oleum is concentrated sulfuric acid with SO3 dissolved in it and water is added to the oleum to make a greater amount of concentrated sulfuric acid.

 

And I completely agree in "wheres the fun in just buying everything", its just that sulfuric acid is one of those things that is pretty tuff to make at home, especially if you don't have the right equipment.