How is sulfur obtained

Plastic sulfur is rubberlike and is made up of long, spiral-chain molecules. If plastic sulfur sits for long, it will reconvert to rhombic sulfur.

Oxides There are many different stable sulfur oxides, but the two that are commonly found are sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide. However, this often leads to pollution problems. Water is circulated in the tower to maintain the correct concentration and the acid is diluted with water at the end in order to produce the correct concentration.

Pure sulfuric acid has no color and odor, and it is an oily, hygroscopic liquid. However, sulfuric acid vapor produces heavy, white smoke and a suffocating odor.

Dilute sulfuric acid , H 2 SO 4 aq reacts with metals and acts as a strong acid in common chemical reactions. It is used to produce H 2 g and liberate CO 2 g and can neutralize strong bases. Concentrated sulfuric acid , H 2 SO 4 conc. In some cases, it removes H and O atoms. Concentrated sulfuric acid is also a good oxidizing agent and reacts with some metals. Applications Sulfur has many practical applications. Outside Links Dhawale, S.

Lebowitz, Samuel H. Nagel, Miriam C. Riethmiller, Steven. Winston and Confederate Sulfuric Acid. Sharma, B. Silverstein, Todd P. Tykodi, R. Sulfur's Electron Shell. References Petrucci, Ralph H. Macmillan Publishing Company, Ninth Edition. Page Karchmer, J. The Analytical Chemistry of Sulfur and its Compounds. Problems Draw a diagram that summarizes the allotropy of sulfur.

Use symbols, arrows, and numbers. Direct combustion of sulfur is the only method for producing SO 2 g. True or False. Sulfites are not oxidizing agents. They are good reducing agents. Give the reaction for the production of sulfur trioxide. Choose the incorrect statement. Sulfur produces cellophane and rayon. Standard sulfur is hydrophobic. SO 2 can oxidize to SO 3 Sulfur influences the development of acid rain and industrial smog. All of the above are correct. Which reaction is responsible for the destruction of limestone and marble statues and buildings?

What is the phase of sulfur at K? Enter the type of crystals. Give the name of the process by which sulfur is forced out of the ground using hot water and air. Solutions The diagram may be drawn in any way. Sulfur dioxide SO 2 , formed by burning sulfur in air, is used as a bleaching agent, solvent, disinfectant and as a refrigerant. When combined with water H 2 O , sulfur dioxide forms sulfurous acid H 2 SO 3 , a weak acid that is a major component of acid rain.

Estimated Crustal Abundance : 3. Estimated Oceanic Abundance : 9. Number of Stable Isotopes : 4 View all isotope data.

Electron Shell Configuration :. Sulfur Previous Isotopes Next. Say what? Sulfur is pronounced as SUL-fer. But sulfur occurs frequently in compounds in nature, usually as a stinky, yellow mineral associated with hot springs and volcanoes, perhaps explaining why the authors of the Bible associated it with hellfire and wrath. Gay-Lussac was known for his research on gases, which involved him flying in hydrogen-filled balloons more than 22, feet 7, meters above sea level, according to the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

When burned, sulfur produces a blue flame and sulfur dioxide gas — a common pollutant, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere comes mostly from fossil-fuel power plants and is one of the primary causes of acid rain. The gas is also a lung irritant. The EPA regulates sulfur dioxide emissions along with five other so-called "criteria pollutants," including lead and carbon monoxide.

Today, sulfur is a byproduct of the refinement of fossil fuels into usable energy sources like gasoline. This refinement is a good thing for preventing sulfur compounds from heading skyward when the fuel is burned, causing acid rain.

But it leads to hills of elemental sulfur piling up in refineries. About 90 percent of this elemental sulfur goes to make sulfuric acid, said Jeff Pyun, a biochemist at the University of Arizona. But "since we go through millions of barrels of oil a day, a few percent [sulfur] a barrel just piles up quickly," Pyun said. With nearly million tons of waste sulfur produced a year, the 10 percent not used in sulfuric acid production comes out to a not-insignificant 10 million tons a year.

What to do with this yellow mess? Pyun and his colleagues think they have an answer. They've found a way to turn waste sulfur into plastic, which in turn can be used in thermal imaging devices and lithium-sulfur batteries. Sulfur is tough to work with because it doesn't dissolve in other chemicals easily. That was the first frustration Pyun and his team of researchers from Korea, Germany and the United States had to face. At the end of their ropes, the researchers decided just to melt the stuff.

It turns out that sulfur becomes a polymer — a long chain of linked molecules that is the basis for plastics — automatically when heated above F C.