What are some uses for sulfuric acid?
Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, is a viscous (thick and syrupy), oily liquid which has for years been the most widely used chemical in the world. Over 100 billion lb (45 billion kg) of sulfuric acid are produced each year. It is also one of the least expensive acids, which makes it a favorite of industries around the world. It is used in the production of fertilizers and as an industrial catalyst (a substance which speeds up chemical reactions). One of the major uses of sulfuric acid is in the production of fertilizers. Phosphate rock is treated with sulfuric acid to produce water soluble phosphates, which are essential for plant growth and survival. It is also the acid used in car batteries. Automobile batteries contain lead, lead oxide, and sulfuric acid. These lead storage batteries are used because they can not only provide the electric current needed to start a car, but can be recharged by the car’s electrical system while the car is running. Sulfuric acid is one of the major components of
In addition, there is this thing called Wikipedia, which despite being an editable encyclopedia, is a great resource with which to start an investigation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_ac… ========= Follow up ========== DO NOT PUT SULFURIC ACID ON A BEE STING. DO NOT PUT SULFURIC ACID ON YOUR SKIN!!!!! Sulfuric acid is quite damaging to skin. ======== More follow up ========= A word about answering “questions”. There is a difference between someone genuinely needing help in understanding some sticky point of chemistry and someone who simply wants someone else to do his work for him. I believe questions like the one above fall into the latter category. I always urge my students to do some research on their own before coming to me with a question. The questions they have may be related to the research. But if they have done no research at all, then I will direct them to where they can find the answer. Th
