Treatment FAQ

what is sulfuric acid used for in water treatment

by Julianne Brown Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

Sulfuric Acid — sulfuric acid is the most commonly used acid in the world. It is frequently used to bring the pH level of wastewater back to normal.

Sulfuric Acid — sulfuric acid is the most commonly used acid in the world. It is frequently used to bring the pH level of wastewater back to normal.Jan 12, 2020

Full Answer

How do you remove sulfuric acid from water?

Sulfuric acid is the acid of choice for many pH neutralization applications due to its high effectiveness and strong acidic nature. Typical Applications: Industrial and sanitary wastewater. pH neutralization. Emulsion breaker. Typical Properties: pH: <1.0. Odor: Odorless to slightly pungent. Specific gravity @93%: 1.83.

What are the common uses of sulfuric acid?

Treatment Overview. 0.4.2 ORAL EXPOSURE. A) MANAGEMENT OF MILD TO MODERATE TOXICITY. 1) INGESTION: Perform endoscopy within the first 12 hours of exposure; if burns are absent or grade l severity, the patient may be discharged when able to tolerate liquids and soft foods by mouth. If mild grade II burns, admit for IV fluids, slowly advance diet ...

Do you add sulfuric acid to water or vice versa?

In manufacture of phosphoric acid and other fertilizers; in copper leaching, uranium, vanadium, and other ore processing, petroleum alkylation; in production of methyl methacrylate, caprolactam, aluminum sulfate, hydrofluoric acid, pulp and paper, titanium dioxide, cellulosic fibers and plastics, explosives, electronic chips, batteries, and pharmaceuticals.

What material is resistant to sulfuric acid?

Industrial Uses of Sulfuric Acid. It is used in different industries such as – wastewater processing, production of cleaning agents, processing of minerals, producing explosives, detergents and paper industry for the manufacture of aluminium sulfate. Uses of Sulfuric Acid in the Production of Drugs. Used to damage the cancerous cell DNA by the manufacture of chemotherapy drugs.

image

Why is Sulphuric acid added for water treatment?

As the most commonly used acid around the world, sulfuric acid is often used to bring the pH level of wastewater back to normal. The major benefits of using sulfuric acid to treat wastewater are as follows: Solid particles with chemicals such as ferric chloride, polymers, and alums will be eliminated.

What is sulfuric acid commonly used for?

In various concentrations the acid is used in the manufacture of fertilizers, pigments, dyes, drugs, explosives, detergents, and inorganic salts and acids, as well as in petroleum refining and metallurgical processes.

Which chemical most commonly used in wastewater treatment?

Certain basic or alkaline chemicals used to raise wastewater pH are below: CaO (calcium oxide or lime), MgO (magnesium oxide), Ca (OH) (calcium hydroxide, a hydrated form of lime) or Mg (OH) (magnesium hydroxide) are the most commonly used chemicals because of availability, low cost, and high capacity.Jan 8, 2015

What is sulfuric acid treatment?

Concentrated sulfuric acid is used within many chemical processes where the consequent dilution of acid occurs. For example concentrated sulfuric acid is used for drying of gases like chlorine, bromine, hydrogen chloride or methyl chloride.

What is sulfuric acid used for at home?

One of the most common examples of sulfuric acid in the home is drain cleaner; liquid-form drain cleaners that unclog drains often contain sulfuric acid. In lesser concentrations, sulfuric acid occurs in glass-cleaning etching compounds, rust and corrosion dissolvers and some fabric cleaners.

What happens when Sulphuric acid dissolves in water?

Sulfuric acid reacts violently with alcohol and water to release heat. It reacts with most metals, particularly when diluted with water, to form flammable hydrogen gas, which may create an explosion hazard.

How do you change the pH of wastewater?

Common chemicals used to increase alkalinity and pH include:Calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide (as lime slurry)Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda)Sodium carbonate (soda ash) or sodium bicarbonate.Magnesium hydroxide or magnesium bicarbonate.

How do you lower the pH of wastewater?

Wastewater with a low pH is generally neutralized using sodium hydroxide (NaOH), lime (CaO), magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2), or calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). Wastewater with a high pH is generally neutralized with sulfuric acid (H2SO4), hydrochloric acid (HC1), or carbon dioxide (CO2).

What are the two chemicals used in the wastewater treatment?

Answer: The two chemicals used in the disinfection of water are chlorine and ozone.

How harmful is sulfuric acid?

Sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive chemical that is potentially explosive in concentrated form. It can cause severe skin burns, can irritate the nose and throat and cause difficulties breathing if inhaled, can burn the eyes and possibly cause blindness, and can burn holes in the stomach if swallowed.

Can you touch sulfuric acid?

Drinking concentrated sulfuric acid can burn your mouth and throat, and it can erode a hole in your stomach; it has also resulted in death. If you touch sulfuric acid, it will burn your skin. If you get sulfuric acid in your eyes, it will burn your eyes and cause them to water.

What is the main hazard associated with sulfuric acid?

corrosiveIt is extremely corrosive to all body tissues, causing rapid tissue destruction and serious chemical burns on contact with the skin or eyes. Skin or eye contact requires immediate first aid. Inhalation of sulphuric acid mist or fumes may produce irritation of the nose, throat and respiratory tract.May 22, 2015

Why is sulfuric acid important?

Sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid is probably the most important of all chemicals, because of its extensive use in a very large number of manufacturing operations. Of the immense quantities made yearly, the greater part does not come upon the market; for, being expensive and difficult to ship, consumers of large amounts generally make their own acid.

Where is pyrite found?

mineral of crystalline structure and pale yellow color. The largest deposits in the United States are in Virginia, at Mineral City, and at Charlemont in Massachusetts. Of the foreign deposits, those in Spain are the most important.

What is sulfuric acid?

Sulfuric acid is one of the world's most widely used chemicals. It finds numerous applications as in the production of fertilizers, explosives, plastic (polyurethanes), esterification of intermediates, dyes and also within the iron and steel industries. The method used today for its production from sulfur, respectively SO 2, ...

How is energy recovery realized?

As an example of good engineering practice, and to minimize operating costs, energy recovery is realized by preheating the cold feed with the concentrated liquid hot sulfuric acid leaving the evaporator. The vapors are condensed in corrosion resistant condensers.

What temperature does sulfuric acid boil at?

The following diagram shows that the boiling temperature at ambient pressure is quite high e.g. 338°C at the azeotropic point. Sulfuric acid at this high boiling temperature is very corrosive to almost any material of construction. Steam or oil at these temperatures are economically no more reasonable as heating media. The old fashioned route for re-concentrating sulfuric acid is therefore the so called pot or drum concentrator where the acid is either boiled with a burner in a silicon iron pot or injected with combustion gases into brick lined drums. The environmental consequence of these high temperature operations is the generation of exhaust fumes consisting of combustion products and often significant amounts of sulfuric acid mist.

How do bayonette type tanatalum heating sticks work?

The diluted sulfuric acid enters the shell near the header of the bayonette type heating stick bundle. The diluted acid flows then while being concentrated towards the outlet of the evaporator shell where the heating sticks end. On their way out through the horizontal boiler the acid flows through baffles that separate the horizontal boiler body into differnent stages. As the baffles avoid back mixing a temperature profile due to the concentration profile in the evaporator unfolds. This increases the average temperature difference between steam and acid and hence minimizes the required heat transfer area. This lowers the costs of the Tanatalum heating sticks.

What is concentrated sulfuric acid?

Concentrated sulfuric acid is used within many chemical processes where the consequent dilution of acid occurs. For example concentrated sulfuric acid is used for drying of gases like chlorine, bromine, hydrogen chloride or methyl chloride. If the dilute sulfuric acid is concentrated back to its initial composition, it will be possible to recycle the sulfuric acid to the process and to generate savings in raw material costs and in effluent disposal costs.

How is vacuum generated in evaporation?

The vacuum of the first stage is generated by using the condensate as liquid either with a liquid ring pump or more corrosion resistant setup . For a lower vacuum required at the second evaporation stage a jet pump is employed using steam.

What chemicals are used to remove solid particles from wastewater?

To remove the solid particles in wastewater, chemicals such as ferric chloride, polymers, and alums are used to produce positive charges. The positive charges neutralize negatively charged solid particles. As a result, the solid particles clump together, making it easier to physically filter out and remove the material.

Is wastewater treatment harmful?

Properly treating wastewater is an important, but often misunderstood process. If wastewater isn’t treated correctly, it can be extremely harmful to our environment, including the people and animals that live in it.

What is the process of coagulation in wastewater?

Since more solids exist in wastewater than municipal water, more chemicals are required for this coagulation process. 2. Neutralization. Neutralization is the adjustment of the pH levels of water. In wastewater treatment, an acid or a base is added, depending on the pH level of the water being treated. Usually, either sulfuric acid ...

Is wastewater treated with chemicals?

However, the chemical treatment of wastewater is especially important . Let’s take a look at the most important things you should know about chemically treating wastewater — including the most common chemicals and the best practices for storing these chemicals.

What is hydrochloric acid used for?

Hydrochloric acid is also used in conjunction with media in the scrubbers. 4. Disinfection. Pathogenic microorganisms thrive in wastewater, making the water dangerous to humans. To prevent the spread of disease, these microorganisms must be destroyed or removed from the wastewater.

Is wastewater treatment more aggressive than municipal water treatment?

In fact, wastewater treatment requires even more aggressive chemicals than municipal drinking water treatment. So it’s always important to properly and safely store the chemicals that are used in the treatment process. Poly Processing Company's Chemical Storage Guide for Wastewater Treatment addresses common chemical storage challenges found in ...

What chemicals are used in wastewater treatment?

The chemicals used in wastewater treatment are extremely hazardous and aggressive. Five of the most frequently used chemicals include: Sodium Hypochlorite — more commonly known as bleach, this chemical is often used to eliminate viruses and bacteria during the disinfection stage.

What is the pH of sodium carbonate?

In the post treatment section, sodium carbonate is dosed for final pH correction to 7.5-8.0 range as to ensure the desired quality of product water. Carbon dioxide, CO2 , is gaining acceptance for pH control in water treatment plant. It reduces high pH levels quickly.

How to control pH in water treatment plant?

In the primary step, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is added into the softened water just before filtration to maintain a pH level of about 6.5 to allow any un-precipitated materials to be filtered. A further addition of sulfuric acid is applied to the filtered water through secondary acidification step. The main purpose of this secondary acidification is to reduce the bicarbonate content and avoid calcium carbonate precipitation. The pH is reduced into the range of 5.9 to 6.4 to meet the RO membrane specifications. In the post treatment section, sodium carbonate is dosed for final pH correction to 7.5-8.0 range as to ensure the desired quality of product water. Carbon dioxide, CO2 , is gaining acceptance for pH control in water treatment plant. It reduces high pH levels quickly. It is not stored as an acid solution so it is considered safer than sulfuric acid. It is non-corrosive to pipes and equipment. It requires less equipment and monitoring costs. It requires no handling costs. It can be utilized via a completely automated system. In this paper, the utilization of carbon dioxide for pH control in water treatment plant will be reviewed. Comparison between sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide will be discussed. The variation of carbon dioxide concentrations with pH value are also presented. It was found that carbon dioxide gives better control of pH than sulfuric acid.

What is the chemical stability of oilfield water?

Chemical stability of oilfield injection water is a critical factor to avoid corrosion and scaling of water treatment devices and pipelines. Especially, Guangli oilfield (a branch of Shengli Oilfield) has achieved remarkable success in anti-corrosion by applying an electrochemical pre-oxidation process into strong corrosive wastewater treatment, while scaling was aggravated therefore. XRD, SEM, EDS, and chemical analysis demonstrated the major component of the scale deposit was calcite. Succeedingly, chemical analysis of produced water along the process showed that pH, concentration of calcium ions, bicarbonate ions, and suspended solids changed remarkably before and after the mixing reactor. Further studies revealed that the addition of water treatment chemicals (Na2CO3) in the mixing reactors induced the precipitates of CaCO3, which could serve as crystal seeds and resulted in the continuous precipitation of calcium ions. Moreover, calcite saturation ratio increased from 0.97 to 3.94 could contribute to the rise of pH and bicarbonate ions. Consequently, both of them created favorable conditions for crystal growth and incurred more severe scaling problem. The final scale inhibition experiments suggested that the amount of calcium carbonate scale could be mitigated through the dose of scale inhibitors.

What is the best pH conditioner?

KHCO3 has been found to be the most suitable pH conditioner for the purpose. About 80 mg/L KHCO3 can remove both arsenate and iron ions from initial 250 μg/L and 20 mg/L to below their respective guideline values of the WHO for drinking water, retaining the final pH in the acceptable range for drinking.

How are the Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains similar?

There is much similarity between the geological formation of the Gangetic and the Brahmaputra plains as both are formed by sedimentation of soils from the Himalayas. The shallow aquifers of both the plains are also expected to be similar except for some variations caused by difference in rainfall and occurrence of floods. Hence, the findings of arsenicosis and arsenic (As) contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh and the Gangetic plains of India (Chakraborti et al. Talanta 58:3–22, 2002; Chatterjee et al. Analyst 120:643–650, 1995) had indicated the possibility of similar fate of the Brahmaputra plains and the Borak plains of the north-eastern region of India also, which was soon proven to be true.

What is Halar piping?

One solution to this problem is the use of Halar® piping systems, manufactured by AGRU, that is more resistant to sulphuric acids than other plastics. Increasingly, the preferred method for treating water uses reverse osmosis (RO) membranes.

What is scaling in RO membranes?

However, scaling is a common challenge for plants using RO membranes. Scaling is the build-up of salts on the membrane , which greatly reduces functionality and eventually causes failure. Common scales include silicates, sulphates, phosphates and carbonate. Calcium carbonate is the most common scale in areas where the water is brackish.

What is the concentration of sulphuric acid?

Sulphuric acid with a concentration of 98% is typically supplied in a concentration range from 98.1% to 98.9%.

What is the pH of drinking water?

The normal pH range of drinking water is 6 – 8.5. The pH is mostly a result of natural geological conditions at the site and the type of minerals found in the local rock. The pH can also be affected by acid rain. Water with a pH value less than 7 is acidic and tends to be corrosive. Acidic water (low pH) can leach metals from plumbing systems, ...

How does a neutralizing filter work?

How neutralizing filters work. A neutralizing filter is used if drinking water is acidic (low pH). It is a simple treatment device that raises the pH of water by adding a neutralizing material. However, it should be noted that the neutralization process may increase water hardness.

Can you use chlorine in a well?

The solution should be fed directly into the well to protect the well casing and pump from corrosion. If the water needs to be disinfected as well as neutralized, dual treatment is possible within the injection system by adding a chlorine solution (sodium hypochlorite) along with the neutralizing chemical.

What does a pH of 7 mean?

Water with a pH value less than 7 is acidic and tends to be corrosive. Acidic water (low pH) can leach metals from plumbing systems, which can cause pipes to leak. Metals that leach from the pipes (lead from lead pipes or copper from copper pipes) may also cause health problems. Water with a value greater than 7 indicates alkalinity ...

How does soda ash work?

How soda ash/sodium hydroxide injection works. This treatment method is used if water is acidic (low pH). Soda ash (sodium carbonate) and sodium hydroxide raise the pH of water to near neutral when injected into a water system. Unlike neutralizing filters, they do not cause hardness problems in treated water.

Can you use potassium hydroxide as a substitute for sodium hydroxide?

Potassium hydroxide may be used as a substitute for sodium hydroxide but may cost more.

What is the difference between calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide?

Calcium carbonate treats water with a pH greater than 6 and synthetic magnesium oxide will treat water with a pH below 6. Untreated water flows through the filter, which is filled with calcium carbonate (limestone) or a synthetic magnesium oxide medium. This material dissolves in the water and raises its pH level.

image
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9