Dilute sulfuric acid

A colorless viscous liquid with a boiling point of 269.2 ° C and a specific gravity of 1.83 g / ml at an ambient temperature of 20 ° is sulfuric acid. The melting point of this substance is only 10.3 ° C.

The level of sulfuric acid concentration is in many respects the determining factor of its application in chemistry and industrial production. As a rule, two basic conditional divisions of concentration levels are distinguished, although in a strictly scientific sense, it is impossible to draw a numerical line between them. According to this classification, dilute sulfuric acid and sulfuric acid are concentrated.

Interacting with a number of metals, such as iron, zinc, magnesium, this substance releases hydrogen during the reaction. For example, when interacting with iron, a reaction occurs, the formula of which is written as follows: Fe + H2SO4 = FeSO4 + H2. It should be remembered that dilute sulfuric acid, whose properties characterize it as the strongest oxidant, practically does not interact with metals with low activity - copper, silver, gold.

Being a strong oxidizer, this compound is able to oxidize a very large list of metals, this property determines its wide application in various fields of industrial production.

As a rule, when reacting with reactive substances, for example, magnesium or sodium, as a result of the oxidation-reduction reaction , sulfur (IV) oxide is obtained, and if these active substances are metals, the reaction produces hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and sulfur (S ). These active metals can be calcium, potassium, already mentioned magnesium and others.

Anhydrous, or else called, highly concentrated sulfuric acid, weakly or practically does not interact with metals, for example, with iron, because iron has an extremely low level of chemical activity. The result of their interaction can only be the formation of a solid film on the surface of an alloy containing iron, the oxide of which is composed of oxides. This is due to the fact that the dilute sulfuric acid, and the more concentrated, is stored and transported mainly in tare of metals: titanium, aluminum, nickel.

This substance is capable of oxidizing nonmetals and even exhibiting its oxidative properties during reactions with complex substances, which are reductants. The nature of the course of such reactions is determined by the degree of concentration that dilute sulfuric acid possesses in each particular case. On the other hand, this substance, regardless of the level of concentration, has many characteristic properties that other acids possess. For example, it is capable, by interacting with oxides, to lead to the isolation of salts. The same happens when interacting with hydroxides. In addition, a dilute sulfuric acid, the formula of which is H2SO4, is a dibasic compound, which also forms certain properties characteristic only of it when interacting with other substances. The main thing is that as a result of these interactions, salts of two types are formed: medium (for concentrated acid) salts - sulfates, and for dilute salts - acid salts, hydrosulfates.

As already noted, dilute sulfuric acid is an important and widespread product of the chemical industry. Application in other industrial areas is also multifaceted. So, it is used in the production of artificial fibers and various types of plastics, mineral fertilizers, dyes. The properties of acid are in demand in the manufacture of explosives. In metallurgical production, it is indispensable in the production of metals, and is also widely used as a gas dehumidifier.

Derivative products of sulfuric acid - sulfates - are actively used in agriculture, in industry - in the production of paints, paper, rubber, gypsum and much more.