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How to make sulfuric acid




Q. I heard that you can make hydrochloric acid out by mixing sulfuric acid and sodium chloride. So instead of asking how to make muriatic acid I was wondering how to make sulfuric acid. I really need to know because I'm trying to do a school project and really need to get a hold of some.

Joshua B [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
student - Rincon, Georgia
2006



"Sulfuric acid Handbook"

on

or Amazon

(affil links)

A. You don't [have to] make either sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, Joshua, you [can] buy them. If you are doing a school project, the acid should be obtained from the chemistry department because you should not be doing school science projects involving hazardous materials except when the school is taking responsibility for training, stewardship, and proper disposal. Good luck with the project!

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006


A. I do not know how to make sulfuric acid, but I do know how to make hydrochloric acid. You first do some electrolysis of brine to capture the hydrogen and chlorine gas given off. Then you combust the gases together to form hydrogen chloride, which you bubble through water. The resulting liquid is hydrochloric acid. Hope this helps you!

P.S. - What do you really want to use it for? AP?

Connor O'Neil
- Bakersfield, California
2007



"Sulfuric acid Manufacture"

on AbeBooks

or Amazon

(affil links)

A. A solid mixture of Sodium chloride and sodium bisulphate in a test tube will produce HCl gas when heated. Water readily absorbs hydrogen chloride gas, so by running this gas in the proximity of water, hydrochloric acid is produced.

NaCl + NaHSO4 -> HCl + Na2SO4

Greg Martin
- Grand Ledge, Michigan
January 14, 2008


A. Mixing chlorine and hydrogen gas to get hydrochloric acid could be a dangerous reaction, it would be better to mix sodium bisulphate and sodium chloride and heating to get sulfuric acid, than to make hydrochloric acid add salt to it and distill the gas directly into water.

James Thompson
- San Diego, California
August 1, 2009


A. I think you can make sulfuric acid by burning sulfur sulfur [affil links] to produce sulfur dioxide, then bubbling the sulfur dioxide through water ... it worked for me :D

Alex C [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- London, England, U.K.
October 31, 2009



"Sulfuric Acid Use and Handling"

on AbeBooks

or Amazon

(affil links)

A. hello the way to make sulfuric acid is to burn sulfur
but that only makes SO2
next you must pass the SO2 exhaust over CaCl to dry the gas
then you must pass the SO2 and some )2 from the air over a tube filled with coarse rust heated to red hot
then you must bubble the then SO3 through weak sulfuric acid or water to dissolve the SO3 created
then you must filter the gas coming out of the sulfuric with carbon filters or lime filters or you might be venting SO3 to the atmosphere and it can be deadly or at least a EPA violation

Johnny lester
manufacturer - menomonee falls, Wisconsin
November 23, 2009



November 13, 2010

A. if you want to make sulfuric acid,

first make a solution of copper sulphate.
then put it in a test tube.
take a carbon rod and attach a wire to it.
take a piece of copper wire and attach a wire to it.
then submerge both the copper wire and carbon rod in the solution in the test tube.
hook the carbon rod wire to the negative terminal of a 9v battery.
hook the copper wire's wire to the positive terminal of the battery.
take care that they both don't touch each other.
due to electrolysis the copper sulphate [on eBay or Amazon]solution will separate into copper and a dilute solution of sulfuric acid

karthik jain
- new delhi, delhi, India



Q. We want to make diluted sulfuric acid 50%. How do we make it in bulk quantity?

Abdul Sami Memon
Employee - Matyari, Sindh, Pakistan
November 19, 2010


A. Hi, Matyari.

You will see the theory of how to make sulfuric acid in the reports of lab projects above. But I think building a sulfuric acid manufacturing plant is beyond what you can learn how to do from a response in an internet public forum. Sorry.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 2010


A. That statement that you can't find the answer to mass produce anything or specifically sulfuric Acid is simply not true. Maybe in this forum there isn't an accurate answer but if you keep searching and follow all promising links you will find the answer. I find the D-I-Y network to be a valuable source of any and all kinds of solutions to difficult procedures such as Making sulfuric Acid.

Michael Anderson
- Eugene Oregon USA
February 1, 2011



i. Thanks, Michael. 3 procedures were offered for making sulfuric acid above; I still believe you won't find plans on the internet for building a manufacturing plant to produce 50% sulfuric acid in bulk but if you have a specific link, please offer it. Thanks again.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 1, 2011



A. Too easy, mix 5 small spoons of sodium hydrogen sulphate and table salt in a test tube, cap it with a rubber stopper and right angle pipe assembly
Heat this mixture over the Bunsen burner for about 20 minutes with the right angle pipe in about 5 inches of water when this is done you will have about 5 inches of about level 8 hydrogen chloride

Josh Velt
- Langley, British Columbia, Canada
November 5, 2011


----
Ed. note: Josh may be right that this is "too easy" for experienced chemists; but please don't misread this to think that there are few or no serious hazards if the inexperienced start mixing/making hazardous chemicals :-(

A. Read Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island [affil link to Amazon], Chapter 2 or 3 (I think) gives you instructions. Also an alternate method discussed there.

Patrick Maxwell
- Midland, Michigan, USA
April 16, 2012


Q. Can I dilute 0.5m sulfuric Acid and make 0.25m sulfuric Acid?
If I can what do I need to do?

Martyn Apps
- Kent UK
May 10, 2012



A. Hi, Martyn. I'm not a chemist, but it seems to me that if a liter of solution has 1/2 mole of sulfuric acid in it, and you add that liter to a liter of de-ionized water, you will have two liters of .25m solution. Add the acid to the de-ionized water slowly, and allow to cool if it starts getting hot.

"Do as you oughta, add acid to water" -- spoken with a Kennedy accent.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
May 11, 2012



A. If you add sulfuric acid to water you will get a big reaction and alot of heat. So be very careful.

Ronny Oliver
retired - Lewisville, Texas, U.S.A.
June 12, 2012



Q. I need experimental data to produce sulfuric acid.

S Amini
- Iran
November 12, 2012



A. Hi Amini.

That's quite vague. Can you try to cast your question in terms of the responses that have already been posted?

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 13, 2012



Q. Can't you make sulfuric acid by mixing water, and sulfur?

R. Kimberly
- Port ST. Lucie, Florida, U.S.A.
August 29, 2013


A. Hi R. Sorry, no.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 30, 2013




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