Make sulfuric acid from water and sulfur (electrobromine process)

No video

Make sulfuric acid from water and sulfur (electrobromine process)

Рет қаралды 375,913

Күн бұрын

Glassware generously provided by www.alchemylabsupply.com/
Use the discount code "copper" for a 5% discount.
Donate to NurdRage!
Through Patreon (preferred): / nurdrage
Through IndieGoGo: igg.me/at/NurdRage/x/2114862
Through KZfaq Fan Funding (click on support button): / nurdrage
Through Bitcoin: 1NurdRAge7PNR4ULrbrpcYvc9RC4LDp9pS
In this video we make sulfuric acid from sulfur and water using electrolytically generated bromine as the catalyst.
Warning: Bromine and sulfur bromides are volatile and toxic. This might be done outside or in a fume hood.
We start with 16g of sulfur in a 250 ml beaker. We install 5 lantern battery carbon electrodes for the anode and a copper wire for the cathode. To this setup we add 200mL of 5M hydrobromic acid. The copper cathode is readjusted to be as physically close to the top of the electrolyte as possible while still being immersed in it. A current is then applied of less than 2 amps. The electrolysis is performed for 40 hours with occasional stirring and addition of water to make up for evaporative loses.
Whats happening is the electrolysis converts hydrobromic acid to bromine and hydrogen. The hydrogen bubbles away and the bromine reacts with sulfur to produce disulfur dibromide. This in turn reacts with more bromine and water to produce sulfuric acid and hydrobromic acid.
At the end of the run, the solution is filtered and then refluxed for 30 minutes to drive the conversion to completion. The solution is then distilled to first recover water, then hydrobromic acid and finally sulfuric acid.

Пікірлер: 578

@MiguelSanchez-gu3nt 8 жыл бұрын

I didn't know Anonymous did Chemistry. Good for them

@elephystry 7 жыл бұрын

Miguel Sanchez needs more upvotes

@frumpusdumpus9436 3 жыл бұрын

lmao this comment

@skullcrusher3696 3 жыл бұрын

Savage

@jesscorbin5981 2 жыл бұрын

I wonder if he's Virgo

@user-pr6ed3ri2k Жыл бұрын

122 *112th

@Virologic 9 жыл бұрын

Why the hell do people dislike this content? He spends time out of HIS life, and spends HIS money, to make quality content for you guys! Why dislike that?

@serraramayfield9230 9 жыл бұрын

ikr. this guy seriously is cool

@garethdean6382 9 жыл бұрын

GamingWithViro -Viro- Jealousy.

@Virologic 9 жыл бұрын

Haha maybe :P

@TheRandomness707 9 жыл бұрын

GamingWithViro -Viro- probably misclicks

@TheCookiesTester 9 жыл бұрын

Maybe because it's their opinion, and there is an option to dislike what you don't neccesarily enjoy? Don't get me wrong, i love this channel, but people have a right to their opinion.

@orgminyak 9 жыл бұрын

True chemist on youtube. Your contributions towards public education is greatly appreciated. One day, we'll make a bust out of you once we know your identity.

@jennoscura2381 9 жыл бұрын

nura loh The bust will just be a black box with a button. You push the button and a voice comes out that says "greetings fellow nurds".

@garethdean6382 9 жыл бұрын

transhealthy After several minutes of kicking the door is kicked down, exposing the dimly lit lab beyond. The air is thick with the smell of... nothing (Always use a fumehood!) Cautiously you approach the figure in the shadows. Quickly darting forward you snatch at the labcoat... which falls away revealing nothing but a tape recorder. 'Goodbye fellow nurd...' Only then do you notice the ominously bubbling beaker. The explosion is heard three miles away.

@orgminyak 8 жыл бұрын

***** Shhh

@garethdean6382 8 жыл бұрын

***** First we attack Iron Maiden, then Led Zeppelin. How dare these western dogs misappropriate the names of elements?!

@gm7173 8 жыл бұрын

+Gareth Dean lol

@NurdRage 9 жыл бұрын

Thank you everyone for supporting me on patreon, indiegogo and youtube fan funding! My next video will be a thank you and shoutout to all contibutors.

@Pet_Hedgehog 9 жыл бұрын

No, we should give the thanks for such great videos!!

@giorgosmetalheart1767 9 жыл бұрын

***** People can afford to donate $150 and I can't even have $50 to get basic lab glassware... Life is unfair. PS: Congratulations for your move pal!

@RoastCDuck 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks to you mate! My first chemical channel

@Agustx0 9 жыл бұрын

Giorgos Metalhear I feel that bro

@orgminyak 9 жыл бұрын

NurdRage Hey, where can I learn more about you? Like why aren't you in a school or research institute, using their resources for your videos? Maybe you can work with KhanAcademy to get proper funding to educate the world! I've contributed but it's sad to see quality education videos, produced by awesome people like you having to rely on (though not fully I assume) donation rather than to have enough earnings from your videos to fund them.

@Goldfish_Vender 9 жыл бұрын

I'm showing this to my bromides back at home.

@garethdean6382 9 жыл бұрын

Goldfish_Vender You don't think they'll find it a little too shocking?

@Jake-sf9wv 9 жыл бұрын

Hah. Stop.

@fredluden2298 5 жыл бұрын

🤦‍♂️

@feverspell 9 жыл бұрын

I love watching your videos. I did not do well in Chemistry in high school, but with the way you explain things, I can follow along and understand how you're getting from Point A to Point B without feeling like a complete dunce. So, thank you.

@theCodyReeder 7 жыл бұрын

Can something like this work with galena instead of sulfur?

@luisbeaucage5147 7 жыл бұрын

Cody'sLab assuming it's what you need the galena for

@luisbeaucage5147 7 жыл бұрын

Cody'sLab btw big fan :)

@benjaminlarson6168 7 жыл бұрын

CODY!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

@CRuggles3 7 жыл бұрын

I'm gonna say no, not unless you do it separately, in an anhydrous environment. Not sure what lead sulphide chemical formula is in Galena, but this is how you could do it for sodium sulphide: 2 Na2S + 2 Br2 = 2 NaBr +S2Br2 Then the sulfur bromide could be used like in this reaction with water. An easier way to make sulfuric acid would be to mix mineral oil and sulfur together and heat. This will produce tons of hydrogen sulfide. This can react with copper sulfate or produce insoluble copper sulfide and sulfuric acid. Copper sulfate could be made from oxidizing copper sulfite I bet, possibly via electrolysis, or That could be made via sulfur dioxide, water, and copper oxide/hydroxode. No point in making it though when you can buy ammonium sulfate in bulk. It's magical stuff: heat it up and it releases lots of ammonia gas as it forms ammonium bisulfate. Ammonium bisulfate acts much like sulfuric acid for most double displacement reactions, just lower yield and lots of ammonium contamination. You can mix it with a nitrate to distill nitric acid, though. Ditto for almost all other acids that can boil away.

@justinpatterson7700 7 жыл бұрын

You could roast the galena and take the SO2 and revert it back to elemental sulfur :D

@svnhddbst8968 9 жыл бұрын

really glad at the sudden increase in video production.

@GamersOfDenmark 9 жыл бұрын

***** I agree, happy to see the channel getting more active. :)

@chimkinNuggz 9 жыл бұрын

That just means he back at it with his murderous ways. U might be his next victim

@GamersOfDenmark 9 жыл бұрын

I don't mind dying for science nor fun xD

@connormurray634 9 жыл бұрын

RuggedALAN She*

@AidanGieg 9 жыл бұрын

Connor Murray We don't know if NurdRage is a he or she definitively.

@goldwinstewart6590 9 жыл бұрын

Nurdrage! I just wanted to say that this video is awesome and that I'm really happy that you've been making more videos. Also I'd like to apologize for not supporting you financially. I'm a student and things are rough but once I graduate I'll be donating. Keep it up!

@snowdaysrule 7 жыл бұрын

Recomended current density for a graphite anode is 30mA/cm^2 :) And bromide concentration in the solution also matters, because too low may also cause excessive anode wear. Hope this helps!

@hypergolic_rhetoric8052 9 жыл бұрын

Super intriguing method! Can't wait to see or read about your improvements -especially due to the lack of sources for "electrobromination" route of acid production. Top notch as always

@vatsauldesai2648 9 жыл бұрын

Ur awesome nurd rage. Good to have u back!

@elliotwilliams7523 4 жыл бұрын

one of the best chemistry videos on youtube ive watched this many times

@giorgosmetalheart1767 9 жыл бұрын

A video every week and I can't be any happier!

@johnstroll1 9 жыл бұрын

I always enjoy watching your videos thank you! Before watching them i had almost zero interest in chemistry. Based on an earlier suggestion of yours i looked and bought robert bruce Thompsons home chemistry book and have been slowly building up a small amount of chemistry equipment. I have successfully completed about 2% of your experiments but still enjoy watching every one of them. I particularly like the safety element of you include in your videos since i dont have a lab nor a fume hood. It's great to have you back. I know from trying to get my own lab equipment that it can be expensive and after watching your previous video will try to throw some funds your way. Thank you and look forward to seeing more of your videos! By the way really liked the video on the thermocouple. Listening to you freak out on the price tag issue was funny as hell!

@greenlionalchemy2425 Жыл бұрын

nice!

@coolspart 9 жыл бұрын

yesssssssssssssss Haven't seen your videos for quite a while,,I'm Glad Your are updating your channel!!!!

@helizwaiting7030 7 жыл бұрын

You rock bro, thanks for the lessons. Maybe you can put a filter/screen on the rod/rods to hold the graphite dust? Probably cost some power through resistance though I guess..That was alot of current though and it took forever...Fully submerged electrodes may make a difference by avoiding gas but I don't know for sure.

@skippy1460 9 жыл бұрын

What you can do and think of is so over my head. I can build and fabricate and design robots and other things, but what you are able to do I wish I could understand and think like you do. I love your videos. Thank you

@jonnymiskatonic 9 жыл бұрын

My $2 going to good use. This is the type of stuff I'd wished I had learned in chemistry class, but no we just got the girls track coach doubling as a chemistry teacher.

@Membrane556 9 жыл бұрын

It's always good to know another way to make sulfuric acid.

@omsingharjit 4 жыл бұрын

Can i rrplace that acid with other commonly used acid!!????

@Nerdthagoras 9 жыл бұрын

I love how much you love to do what you do..

@little1gili 9 жыл бұрын

I'd just like to add that you should always have a bucket of a thiosulfate solution around whenever you're working with bromine. If something goes wrong you can use the thiosulfate to oxidise the bromine to bromide. This is one of the safety mesures we always use in the university labs in Freiburg, whenever we're handling bromine. Lab safety is important.

@Imagine-Baggins 9 жыл бұрын

Wow such a complicated process... This is why I love chemistry!

@NecroBanana 9 жыл бұрын

Cool storu, bro.

@AliMoeeny 9 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the short intro video, I really appreciate it,

@randy9182 9 жыл бұрын

Excellent video! I'm sure refining this method will improve yield and purity.

@brulovbrulov 9 жыл бұрын

It's so cool that you discovered a new process of making sulfuric acid.

@danielLandon408 Жыл бұрын

It’s so cool actually and making disulfer dibromide into a process of making sulfuric acid is really hard to do

@toothpick993 9 жыл бұрын

Great video!! Loved it

@BobD1001 9 жыл бұрын

Amazing video as always Nurdrage! Thank you! Hopefully you can find some cheap Platinized anodes that will work for you. Also, I doubt MMO would work, but if you care to try it I have a bunch of surplus mesh MMO anode material, I could send you a couple strips to play with.

@TheMeilinger 9 жыл бұрын

very very cool video. i didn't know about this method, thumbs up :)

@AlexGoneGaming 7 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't a mixed metal oxide (MMO) anode work? I've seen good deals for them on eBay.

@suckinDiesel44 9 жыл бұрын

Excellent video!

@ZackXa 8 жыл бұрын

If I wasn't broke and in debt I would contribute to your patreon dude. Keep doing what you're doing man.

@rabbitgowoof2299 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks man its really effective and destroying flesh, some bones were left though :(

@CatboyChemicalSociety 3 жыл бұрын

I wonder how this compares to the membrane process. this can directly oxidize sulfur while the membrane process needs any sulfate salt and a catalyst NaOH CaSO4, MgSO4 with an anion exchange membrane or NF membrane where the latter is cheaper and can be homemade. ammonium sulfate can be used with CEM and also NF membranes with CEM being easy to make and just needs a few commonly bought items and a temperature controlled toaster oven.

@ArtyomGalstyan 9 жыл бұрын

what is the industrial and most efficient method of getting sulfuric acid? this exact method does not seem to me efficient.

@diegoreyes7932 7 жыл бұрын

hi, when may I know when the electrolysis has finished, what should I have in the beaker to start the reflux and how can I identify it.

@malackirich9835 8 жыл бұрын

is that acid that can burn please make a video of you marketing the acid I asked you to make

@user-tx1ks5yi6t 2 жыл бұрын

Very good i am frome egypt haw i get carpon icant get it and how i do sodim hidroxid

@klaus6178 3 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to use graphite from pencils instead of carbon rods?

@AddisonPhilips 9 жыл бұрын

To heck with the yield: forge boldly onward! Nice job and interesting.

@FPSKrish 9 жыл бұрын

Don't understand how anyone would dislike this???

@garethdean6382 9 жыл бұрын

I remember 'discovering' a process like this when reading about sulfur chlorides. (Salt and hydrogen peroxide.) I can imagine there wouldn't be much about this in the literature as it's basically just cobbled together from interesting reactions, a possibility but likely not of industrial importance.

@edgeeffect 5 жыл бұрын

You mentioning the stench of Sulphur Bromines..... that's why I first got into chemistry when I was a kid..... the idea of brewing up some unholy stenches.

@browncolin91 8 жыл бұрын

Your videos are amazing

@ThePeterDislikeShow 4 жыл бұрын

Is there a trichloride ion just like tribromide or triiodide?

@theevangelistdr.robertl.mc1442 2 жыл бұрын

Try using 316l welding rods from local welding supply and lower the amps to .1 to .5 or so at 12 volts.

@DarkFireGibson 9 жыл бұрын

Please, next time when you have a more effective technique show us more details on what temp we should distill at and the voltage and amps you use for electrolysis.

@manusholm3536 2 жыл бұрын

is there a feasable way of making sulphamic acid. i only finde wiki page where thay very breafly explain the industrial prosess. using urea and sulfuric acid and some other stuff. i want to make it for gold refining, denoxing agent. as it aparently work better than urea.

@BurntBrian 9 жыл бұрын

I always learn cool things watching your channel. Cheers!

@EgadsNo 9 жыл бұрын

+Anon technically this is a transmission of data over State lines- so is a email, or a out of State fax. Such transmission do not grant a patent, but they do offer protection in time to file for a patent. Its sort of like a temporary patent.

@1046juan 9 жыл бұрын

+NurdRage Hi wanted to know if instead of using the Bromic acid could use boric acid or other acid

@petecher7242 2 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to obtain sulfuric acid from sulfurous acid by electrolysis?

@Daedalus33 8 жыл бұрын

Oh you know just came up with a new way to make sulfuric acid. Nbd bro

@DeadTreeDropOff 9 жыл бұрын

i have 0 idea what he was saying but i enjoy the cool vid :D

@nilnull5457 2 жыл бұрын

A qustion, can lead electrodes (or better yet lead silver alloy electrodes) be used instead of graphite? Can PbO2 coated graphite electrodes be used instead?

@createvideo561 2 ай бұрын

Damn really needed that process

@shonaoneill5151 8 жыл бұрын

Well done

@DeliciousDeBlair 6 жыл бұрын

If you can make a sealed system and use the platinum electrodes, it seems you should be able to almost infinitely recycle your bromine making the process fairly cost effective, provided you are producing large quantities.

@makp0 9 жыл бұрын

Nice work!

@Qwertypp10 9 жыл бұрын

What is the temperature for this process ? It should be lower or higher ?

@jpayed Жыл бұрын

Does anybody know. Can sulphamic acid be made in the lab?

@someniceguyon 4 жыл бұрын

Can you just heat the sulfur to decompose it into sulur dioxide and bubble that gas into water to create sulfuric acid?

@dasbuj 9 жыл бұрын

This is awesome NurdRage! Refine that method and get this published!

@flamedrag18 9 жыл бұрын

is it possible to do this with hydrochloric acid instead?

@XxAILASxX 9 жыл бұрын

An alternative to lantern batteries for carbon rods possibly carbon gouging electrodes. They're clad in copper so its just a matter of pealing the part in contact with the solution away

@ganjajoe2566 6 жыл бұрын

Great Job! I am doing this, using pieces of catalytic converter with platinum plating as my catalyst! :) Thanks!

@gladion00 9 жыл бұрын

You should put the links for the funding in all your videos

@NurdRage 9 жыл бұрын

gladion00 Brilliant idea! i'm on it.

@SpytheGSD 9 жыл бұрын

I have no idea what's going on but it looks neat.

@TheChemistryShack 9 жыл бұрын

Is this procedure more for the science, or do you use it to make sulfuric acid instead of buying sulfuric acid online?

@deathkeys1 9 жыл бұрын

only the best, never disappoints.

@JehuMcSpooran 9 жыл бұрын

Nice one mate. Another method I have read about but not found too much info on is the sulfur, water and ozone method. Basically putting sulfur in water and then bubbling ozone through it. have you read about that?

@TheTerry2good 7 жыл бұрын

could you use gold or silver leaf for the anode and cathode

@omsingharjit 4 жыл бұрын

5:34 and lead , and tungsten electrodes ??

@robertheal5137 7 жыл бұрын

I went to the pool shop and I found lanthanum chloride but nothing with bromine in it.

@ThePeterDislikeShow 6 жыл бұрын

Why won't this work with hydrochloric acid?

@Stormrat461 9 жыл бұрын

What would happen if the electrodes were copper rods electroplated with lead dioxide?

@giorgosmetalheart1767 9 жыл бұрын

4:14 Would you try a thin layer of carbon disulfide to dissolve the sulfur residues? I hope it doesn't react with sulfuric acid

@Ravtank1 9 жыл бұрын

Would it be more effective to disassociate the sulfur into the water by lowering the surface tension of water for this experiment? Using dish soap concentrate more specifically, or would HBr react with the surfactants to cause a wide range of side reactions? Ammonium C12-15 Pareth Sulfate, NaCl, Poloxamer 124, and Lauramidopropylamine Oxide are the ingredients of Palmolive dish soap.

@terratec1001 9 жыл бұрын

I will probably do this later.

@gummyworm6561 9 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't you be able to use carbon steel rods?

@calebchampion7781 9 жыл бұрын

NurdRage next time try multiple lead points for copper or a full ring of it with multiple connection points for the cathode. more even current flow and try it at switching between 1.65 amps and 2.00 amps every 2.5 hrs. for about 45 hrs

@MusicKnowte 7 жыл бұрын

does this guy have a doctorate? he's amazing

@elephystry 7 жыл бұрын

MusicKnowte think so

@derkateramabend 4 жыл бұрын

MusicKnowte He does, he is a PhD in Chemistry

@iankrase5350 8 жыл бұрын

This is awesome. What about the Lead Chamber process?

@christopherko475 Жыл бұрын

Can you use HCL instead of HBR?

@TheChemistryShack 9 жыл бұрын

Since the reaction is an acidic redox reaction where Br- ions are oxidized to Br2, is the HBr solution necessary, or could it be substituted with an NaBr solution (to provide the Br- ions) and HCl (to provide the H+ ions)? Or does this process also have to do with the fact that HBr is a stronger acid than H2SO4? Just started studying electrochemistry, so there may be something blatantly obvious that I'm overlooking :P

@garethdean6382 9 жыл бұрын

TheChemistryShack Redox potentials change with pH. For example Permanganate is quite stable in alkaline solution but in acid can cause organic materials to combust. NaBr would also tend to produce sodium sulphate\bisulphate (Hard to eliminate as a waste product.)

@TheChemistryShack 9 жыл бұрын

Gareth Dean I suppose the sodium sulfates could be removed in the distillation

@garethdean6382 9 жыл бұрын

TheChemistryShack Sort of. Sodium bisulphate can be quite volatile at those temperatures and traces of it contaminate the product. Plus they'd be a significant loss if you wanted enough bromide for a good reaction.

@TheChemistryShack 9 жыл бұрын

Gareth Dean true

@russtysandwiches208 9 жыл бұрын

could you use graffite, lead or silver as the cathode?

@_arthurski1337 8 жыл бұрын

I have another interesting reaction to propose to you, Nurd, which also happen to involve SO2. The Bunsen reaction: 2H2O + SO2 + I2 → H2SO4 + 2HI (120 °C) The H2SO4 and the I2 + HI solution are roughly immiscible, so the H2SO4 can be separated (top layer) You recover your iodine either by 2HI → I2 + H2 (450 °C) or by oxydizing it with a cheap oxydant, like say 2HI + MgO = MgI2 + H2O + I2 Please don't bite my head off...

@nilnull5457 2 жыл бұрын

Isn't reaction of MgO and HI a simple acid-base reaction instead of a redox reaction? Also, I2 is also a really expensive element, so I guess Br2 can be used instead. But for purely academic purpose, it may work (although HI and H2SO4 are miscible as the first reaction is aqueous).

@lightenlynx 9 жыл бұрын

Could you use a gold electrode instead of carbon? What about in the CuSO method? Platinum is very expensive.

@obamaslilbro 9 жыл бұрын

could you do it with a stir'r to keep the liquids seperate? or would it contaminate the reaction?

@yank.5731 9 жыл бұрын

I do not understand any of this, but i still watch these videos and think they are prettycool lol

@gregharbican7189 4 жыл бұрын

It’s been awhile since this video came out...any updates to the process?

@GeirGunnarss 9 жыл бұрын

how to make Tetramethyl orthosilicate? for aerogel production.

@Scigatt 7 жыл бұрын

Could you use something similar to a salt bridge to separate the electrodes?

@hakiankeiyanyfard956 8 жыл бұрын

tank you. I love sulfuric acid and nitric acid

@glynwatkins9968 5 жыл бұрын

add then together with glycerine and u have nitroglycerine BOOOM

@vsssa1845 6 жыл бұрын

what is the cost of production? the current is 2 amps so the energy consumed is around 8.8 kwh. thats a lot

@Cyndaquazy 9 жыл бұрын

How does this process compare to the processes they use now for industrial creation of H2SO4?

@GMCLabs 9 жыл бұрын

How about using MMO plated Ti electrodes?

@chemicalbombgang 9 жыл бұрын

is it possible to use Pt for both the electrodes ? I have a Pt wool, more like iron wool so would it make this process more efficient by the increase in surface area ?