Industrial Chemicals

Introduction

Elements are combined to make many chemicals that are essential for the manufacture of other chemicals that are in producer and consumer goods.   These chemicals can be grouped as acids, bases (alkalis) and salts.

An acid

A base (alkali)

A salt

The chemicals listed below permeate many manufacturing processes in many industries and therefore have a large impact on higher living standards.

Sulfuric Acid

Sulfuric acid (old name is oil of vitriol), H₂SO₄, is produced in greater quantities than any other chemical in the world because of its wide applications.   Like the production of energy, it is used as an economic indicator of a country's living standards.   Its principal uses include fertilizers, dyes, battery electrolyte, medicines, fruit drying, ore processing, wastewater processing, and oil refining.   Sulfuric acid is produced from sulfur, oxygen and water. ^{W'pedia n.p.}

In the first step, sulfur is burned to produce sulfur dioxide.

(1) S + O₂ ——> SO₂

(2) 2SO₂ + O₂ ——> 2SO₃

In the final step, the sulfur trioxide is treated with water to produce sulfuric acid.

(See Chronology below for important events in the invention of sulfuric acid.)

Ammonia

Hydrochloric Acid

Nitric Acid

Phosphoric Acid

Potassium Hydroxide

Sodium Hydroxide

Sulfuric Acid

To 1790

Sulfuric Acid

The discovery of sulfuric acid is credited to the 9th century Persian physician and alchemist, Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (Rhases), who prepared it by dry distillation of minerals including iron (II) sulfate heptahydrate, FeSO₄ • 7H₂O, called green vitriol, and copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate,
CuSO₄ • 5H₂O, called blue vitriol.   When heated, these compounds decompose to iron(II) oxide and copper(II) oxide, respectively, giving off water and sulfur trioxide, which combine to produce a dilute solution of sulfuric acid.   This method was popularized in Europe through translations of Islamic treatises and books by European alchemists, such as the 13th-century German Albertus Magnus. ^{W'pedia n.p.}

In the 17th century, the German-Dutch chemist, Johann Glauber, prepared sulfuric acid by burning sulfur together with saltpeter (potassium nitrate, KNO₃), in the presence of steam.   As the saltpeter decomposes, it oxidizes the sulfur to SO₃, which combines with water to produce sulfuric acid. ^{W'pedia n.p.}

In 1736, Joshua Ward, a London pharmacist, used Glauber's method to begin the first large-scale production of sulfuric acid. ^{W'pedia n.p.}

In 1746 in Birmingham, John Roebuck, began producing sulfuric acid this way in lead-lined chambers, which were stronger, less expensive, and could be made larger than the glass containers which had been used previously.   This lead chamber process allowed the effective industrialization of sulfuric acid production, and with several refinements remained the standard method of production for almost two centuries. ^{W'pedia n.p.}

John Roebuck's sulfuric acid was only about 35-40% concentrated sulfuric acid.   Later refinements in the lead-chamber process by the French chemist, Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, and the British chemist, John Glover, improved this to 78%.   However, the manufacture of some dyes and other chemical processes require a more concentrated product, and throughout the 18th century, this could only be made by dry-distilling minerals in a technique similar to the original alchemical processes.   Pyrite (iron disulfide, FeS₂) was heated in air to yield iron (II) sulfate, FeSO₄, which was oxidized by further heating in air to form iron(III) sulfate,
Fe₂(SO₄)₃, which when heated to 480 °C decomposed to iron(III) oxide and sulfur trioxide, which could be passed through water to yield sulfuric acid in any concentration.   However, the expense of this process prevented the large-scale use of concentrated (98 %) sulfuric acid. ^{W'pedia n.p.}   (See also 1831 below.)

1790-1799

1800-1809

1810-1819

1820-1829

1830-1839

In 1831, the British vinegar merchant, Peregrine Phillips, patented a far more economical process for producing sulfur trioxide and concentrated sulfuric acid, now known as the contact process, which is used today. ^{W'pedia n.p.}

1840-1849

1850-1859

1860-1869

1870-1879

1880-1889

1890-1899

1900-1909

1910-1919

1920-1929

1930-1939

1940-1949

1950-1959

1960-1969

1970-1979

1980-1989

1990-1999