Chemistry O-Level (5070) Notes by Syeda Huda
Contact Process
The Contact Process is used for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. The Contact process is used in large
scale preparation of sulphuric acid in the industries.
Step 1: Making the sulphur dioxide
This can either be made by burning sulphur in an excess of air (or by heating sulphide ores like pyrite Fe
S2 in an excess of air):
In either case, an excess of air is used so that the sulphur dioxide produced is already mixed with oxygen
for the next stage.
Step 2: Converting the sulphur dioxide into sulphur trioxide
This is a reversible reaction, and the formation of the sulphur trioxide is exothermic.
Conditions required for this reaction are:
Temperature 450°C,
Pressure 200kPa /2 atm
Catalyst vanadium(V) oxide catalyst
Step 3: Converting the sulphur trioxide into sulphuric acid
This can't be done by simply adding water to the sulphur trioxide - the reaction is so uncontrollable that
it creates a fog of sulphuric acid. Instead, the sulphur trioxide is first dissolved in concentrated sulphuric
acid:
The product is known as fuming sulphuric acid or oleum.
Step 4: Formation of Sulphuric Acid
This can then be reacted safely with water to produce concentrated sulphuric acid - twice as much as
you originally used to make the fuming sulphuric acid.
Reasons for typical conditions used
1) The Temperature
You need to shift the position of the equilibrium as far as possible to the right in order to produce the
maximum possible amount of sulphur trioxide in the equilibrium mixture.
The forward reaction (the production of sulphur trioxide) is exothermic. According to Le Chatelier's
Principle, this will be favoured if you lower the temperature. In order to get as much sulphur trioxide as
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Chemistry O-Level (5070) Notes by Syeda Huda
possible in the equilibrium mixture, you need as low a temperature as possible. However, 400 - 450°C
isn't a low temperature. The reason for using this temperature is because the lower the temperature
you use, the slower the reaction becomes. It makes no sense to try to achieve an equilibrium mixture
which contains a very high proportion of sulphur trioxide if it takes several years for the reaction to
reach that equilibrium.
Therefore 400 - 450°C is a compromise temperature producing a fairly high proportion of sulphur
trioxide in the equilibrium mixture, but in a very short time.
2) The Pressure
Notice that there are 3 molecules on the left-hand side of the equation, but only 2 on the right.
If you increase the pressure the system will respond by favouring the reaction which produces fewer
molecules. That will cause the pressure to fall again.
In order to get as much sulphur trioxide as possible in the equilibrium mixture, you need as high a
pressure as possible. However, the reaction is done at pressures close to atmospheric pressure!
This is due to Economic considerations.
Even at these relatively low pressures, there is a 99.5% conversion of sulphur dioxide into sulphur
trioxide. The very small improvement that you could achieve by increasing the pressure isn't worth the
expense of producing those high pressures.
3) The catalyst
The catalyst has no effect whatsoever on the position of the equilibrium. Its only function is to speed up
the reaction.
In the absence of a catalyst the reaction is so slow that virtually no reaction happens in any sensible
time. The catalyst ensures that the reaction is fast enough for a dynamic equilibrium to be set up within
the very short time.
Uses of Sulphuric Acid Uses of Sulphur Dioxide
1. sterilizing
2. fumigant
3. refrigerant
4. bleach for wood
pulp/cloth/straw or
preserve food
