An extended learning

Sulfuric Acid, H2SO4, is an extremely dangerous and oily chemical. However, when used properly, it can solve many problems we face. It is the most commonly manufactured acid in the world. In 1999, 40 million tons of this chemical was manufactured! What are its uses and what exactly makes it so useful? These are some of the questions I would be answering in this essay.

One of the uses of sulfuric acid is to make fertilizers. Fertilizers are substances that supply plant nutrients or amend soil fertility. This is the fastest and most effective way of improving the quality of the plant. Basically, Sulfuric acid is important in the production of fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate (sulfate of ammonia), (NH4)2SO4, and superphosphate, Ca(H2PO4)2, which is formed when rock phosphate is treated with sulfuric acid. Therefore, sulfuric acid, ammonium and phosphorus are needed in the production of fertilizers. Some famous brands of fertilizers are Scotts, Lesco, Milorganite, Fertilome, Vigoro. As you can see, there are already so many brands in the fertilizer market, imagine the amount of sulfuric acid is needed for that.

Sulfuric acid can also be used to remove of oxides from iron and steel. When there is an oxide on a metal, it can no longer be used for electroplating or galvanizing. Thankfully, a bit of sulfuric acid is all that is needed to remove the problem. Sulfuric acid reacts with the oxide to form carbon dioxide and a salt, therefore, eliminating the oxides from the metal. Rust or iron oxide, is the reddish brown crust that forms on materials containing iron and is the result of the corrosion of iron. The corrosion itself is an electrochemical reaction, oxidation, which occurs when iron comes in contact with water and oxygen. Sulfuric acid, or battery acid(will be explained in later), reacts with rust to form non-toxic iron sulfate and is also used in its diluted form.

Battery is what powers most of the electrical appliances today. Sulfuric acid has a crucial role in creating these batteries. Sulphuric acid is a very reactive substance and because of its instability it is able to distribute itself very evenly throughout the electrolyte in the battery. Over time, this action ensures that an even reaction can occur between all the plates. producing voltage and current. The chemical reaction between constituent parts of the electrolyte and the 1. spongy lead of the negative plates and 2. the lead dioxide at the positive plates turns the surface of both plates into lead sulphate. As this process occurs the hydrogen within the acid reacts with the oxygen within the lead dioxide to form water. The net result of all this reaction is that the positive plate gives up electrons and the negative plate gains them in equal numbers, thereby creating a potential difference between the two plates. The duration of the reactions producing the cell voltage is limited if there is no connection between the two plates and the voltage will remain constant.

In conclusion, sulfuric acid has many uses. It is impossible to list them all in one research. However, I have covered a few of the most common ones. This essay has taught me a lot of sulfuric acid so it has been such an enlightening experience.