METHODS OF PRODUCTION 1.Contact process 2.Chamber process Both processes are based on SO2,chamber process was devloped first(1746) but produced acid concentration less than 80%.Contact process yeilds 98% H2SO4 and higher which can be diluted,if necessary. Chamber process is virtually obsolete. CONTACT PROCESS chemical reactions S(s) + O2(g) = SO2(g) H= -70.9 Kcal SO2(g) + 1/2 O2(g) = SO3(g) H= -23.0 Kcal Raw materials SO2 is obtained from the following sources: 1.Sulphur 2.Pyrites 3.CuS,ZnS,PbS,MoS2 4.wate H2SO4 Catalyst Most widely used catalyst is vanadium pentaoxide dispersed on a porous carrier in pellet form. Platinum catalyst was previously used but suffer from easy poisioning ,fragility,rspid heat deactivation,high initial investment./ *Advantages of V2O5 catalyst -relatively immune to poisons -low initial investment and only 5% replacement per year -requires only 10 kg of catalyst mass contain