Introduction

Sulphuric acid is an odourless, colourless liquid that consists mainly of sulphur, hydrogen
and oxygen molecules with a chemical formula of H2SO4.It a highly corrosive compound that
is also well known as the oil of vitriol. Sulphuric acid is one of the most vital and important in
the chemical industry mainly because it is found in nearly all consumer goods with respect
to their respective productions.
Sulphuric acid is produced through the lead chamber (John Roebuck, 1718-1794) and the
contact process (English Vinegar, Peregrine Philips), both these processes are available
commercially in different number of grades and concentration. The process that is recently
used by many manufactures of the acid is the contact process(of which is the particular
process used when conducting an in-depth study of the reactor), usually sulphur dioxide or
sulphur are used as raw materials .However , sulphur dioxide is oxidised and dissolved in
water in the presence of a catalyst to produce sulphuric acid. The raw material sulphur
dioxide is obtained by burning sulphur, pyrites/iron sulphide, and hydrogen sulphide.
Sulphuric acid may also be produced from ferrous sulphate waste solutions from prickling
iron and steel and from waste acid sludge from oil refineries.
Basically both processes are not that different except that some alterations were made
since we know that in a plant design we retrofit existing processes to make profit. Over the
years, there was a high demand of sulphuric acid. The lead chamber was basically complex
process and could not meet this demand, some alterations were made in the lead chamber
by Philips, they included the installation of a tower for the improvement of surplus nitrogen
oxides and thus the final concentration for the acid increased from 65% to 78% resulting in a
stronger sulphuric acid and as well as the the catalyst vanadium (V2O5) also ensured a
stronger sulphuric acid production. This project main focus is on the fixed bed reactor,
where the catalyst vanadium speeds up the process of the conversion sulphur dioxide to
sulphur trioxide. Around the reactor our main aim is to determine the optimum
temperature at which it should operate and also give us high yields of sulphur trioxide that
would lead to high concentrations of sulphuric acid production.
Physical and chemical properties of sulphuric acid

o It has a chemical formula written as H2SO4 and a molecular weight of 98.8g/mol

o It is a highly corrosive, vicious, oily colourless liquid.
o It has a density of about 1.84g/cm3 and is soluble in water
o Its melting point is about 10.3 oC and the boiling point is approximately 337 oC
o It is considered the most produced chemical besides drinking water and it is least
expensive.

Application and uses of sulphuric acid

o Sulphuric acid is mainly used in the production of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) which is
used to make fertilizers
o It is used as an electrolyte in lead storage batteries
o It is used in the processing of ores in preparation for extraction of metals
o Industrial chemical and research chemical reactions use it as a catalyst
o Used in the manufacture of explosives ,dyes ,glues, pigments, rayon’s as well as films
o It is used as a cleaning agent for metal surfaces, especially prior to them being plated
with a second metal.
o Also in the processing of gasoline and other petrochemicals and etc. (Ebbing
Gammon ,2013)
Process description
Sulphuric acid is manufactured in large quantities because of it high demand and is often
being linked to the stage of development of the country, owing to the large number of
transformation processes in which it is used. In describing the process description for the
manufacture of sulphuric acid based on the contact process, basically three basic operations
are followed, each of which corresponds to a distinct chemical reaction. First, the sulphur in
the feedstock is oxidized (burned) to sulphur dioxide:
S+O2→SO2
The resulting sulphur dioxide is fed to a process unit where it is catalytically oxidized (in this
case by vanadium oxide) to sulphur trioxide:
2SO+2O2→2SO3
Finally, the sulphur trioxide is absorbed in a strong sulphuric acid (98%) solution:
SO3+H2O→H2SO4
Corresponding to the process flow diagram provided below sulphur is burned using the
sulphur burner in clean air that has been dried in the drying tower, air (nitrogen and oxygen)
is dried using concentrated sulphuric acid. The gases from the combustion chamber are
cooled and then enter the fixed bed reactor, inside the reactor there are four reactor beds
where sulphur dioxide is converted to sulphur trioxide using the catalyst vanadium
pentoxide (V2O5) to speed up the process. Approximately 95%–98% of the sulphur dioxide is
converted to sulphur trioxide in the fixed bed reactor. The gas leaving the reactor of which is
sulphur trioxide is again cooled by being passed through economizers and then enters the
double unit absorption towers. The sulphur trioxide is absorbed in the 98%–99% sulphuric
acid where the sulphur trioxide combines with the water in the acid and forms more
sulphuric acid.
Discussion for the method of attack
The basis for the project is based on the objective which is to determine the optimum
temperature for the conversion of sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide. But one must first
understand what a fixed bed reactor is. Fixed bed reactors can be classified as single
adiabatic bed, radial flow and adiabatic beds in series with intermediate cooling or heating
(the one used for this assignment).The fixed bed reactor with beds in series is used for high
conversion, equilibrium and limited reactions. (Rase, 1990)
Basically the method of attack in this problem is using what we have to draw up reasonable
assumptions based on the objective of the project. For one, around the reactor 300% excess
air was fed theirfor we can immediately assume the SO2 to be the limiting reagent in the
equation: 2SO2 + O2 ⟶ 2SO3 which occurs at a negligible rate in the presence of vanadium
oxide. After the assumption made we can use Le-Chateliers principle to determine different
equilibrium values using different temperature with their corresponding Kc values and then
we can be able to determine points that will help us draw the graph of conversion versus
temperature.
Assumptions are also made with regards to the production cost, this is done so that a
designer is able to tell whether they are making profit or not in terms of the catalyst used,
raw material, fixed capital cost, waste treatment cost, utilities, fixed cost, direct labour cost
and many etc. sources of error may occur in this particular case because it just assumptions
of about the amount that may possible in the process of producing a high yield of sulphur
Conversion process with special emphasis on changing conditions to yield
SO3.
The oxidation of sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide in the reactor is a reversible and
an exothermic reaction which means energy is leaving the system. If energy is leaving the
system that will surely affect the reaction in terms of which side the reaction will favour that
occurs at a negligible rate in the presence of a catalyst vanadium pent oxide which is
responsible for speeding the process in the reactor. The inlet volume will not be the same as
the outlet volume
At high temperatures will the equilibrium position will be forced to shift to the left-hand
side of the equation favouring the production of sulphur dioxide. Lower temperatures
would favour the production of the product sulphur trioxide and result in a higher yield.
However, the rate of reaching equilibrium at the lower temperatures is extremely low. A
higher temperature means equilibrium is established more rapidly but the yield of sulphur
trioxide is lower. A temperature of 450oC is a compromise whereby a faster reaction rate
results in a slightly lower yield. Similarly, at higher pressures, the equilibrium position shifts
to the side of the equation in which there are the least numbers of gaseous molecules
(speight, 2002)
2SO2(g)+O2(g)→2SO3
On the left-hand side of the reaction there are 3 moles of gaseous reactants, and on the
right-hand side there are 2 moles of gaseous products, so higher pressure favours the right-
hand side. Higher pressure results in a higher yield of sulphur trioxide. A vanadium catalyst
Cost of production
For each company, when there is a new equipment purchased in the plant as means of
improving or retrofitting the plant. The study of that particular equipment is done so as to
identify whether it will have a positive effect for short and long term goals of the
manufacturing company. This is done by conducting research about the catalyst to be
used,its availability and whether it is affordable. For this project a new reactor was
purchased as part of the sulphuric acid plant upgrade. Certain assumptions were made for
and are as follows:

Assumptions cost

Fixed capital investment

Raw material
Waste treatment
utilities
Direct labour cost
Fixed cost

The following equations were used to determine the total manufacturing cost:
a) Fixed manufacturing cost( FMC)= 0.708COL+0.068FCI (Where COL is the direct labour
cost and FCI is the fixed capital instrument).

b) Direct manufacturing cost (DMC) = CRM + CWT + CUT + 1.33COL+ 0.0069FCI (Where
CRM is the raw material cost, CWT is the waste treatment cost and CUT is the
utilities.

c) General expenses =0.177COL + 0.009FCL + O.16COM

is used in this reaction in order to speed up the rate of the reaction.(Speight, 2002)