Colorless viscous liquid, boiling pointwhich is 269.2 ºC, and the specific density is 1.83 g / ml at the ambient temperature (20º) - this is sulfuric acid. The melting point of this substance is only 10.3 ° C.
The level of sulfuric acid concentration isis a significant determinant 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 asiron, 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 interacting chemicallyactive substances, for example, magnesium or sodium, oxidation-reduction reaction produces sulfur (IV) oxide, 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.
Waterless, or as it is 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 on the surface of an alloy containing iron, a strong film, the chemical composition of which includes 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 able to oxidize nonmetals and evenmanifest their oxidative properties in the course of reactions with complex substances, such as reductants. The nature of the course of such reactions is determined by the degree of concentration possessed by dilute sulfuric acid in each particular case. On the other hand, this substance, regardless of the concentration level, 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 some characteristic properties only for 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 -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 dryer.
Derivative products of sulfuric acid - sulfates - are actively used in agriculture, in industry - in the manufacture of paints, paper, rubber, gypsum and much more.
