Sulphuric acid is a colorless, odorless and viscous liquid, consisting of sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen. It is used in large quantities by the iron and steelmaking industry to remove oxidation, rust, and scaling from rolled sheet and billets prior to sale to the automobile and major appliances industry. It is the largest volume chemical produced in the U.S. and is used to produce explosives, dyestuffs and other chemicals.
As sulphur is highly reactive, it should not be inhaled by most people. Instead, one should use a non-metallic air purifier (i.e. activated carbon). The particles of dust and soil, which contain high levels of sulphuric acid will usually be inhaled easily without any difficulty. If one does inhale sulphuric acid, they should be sure to wash their hands immediately after the encounter, or at the very least, have their hands washed immediately if the results are to be believed.
Sulphuric acid, due to their highly reactive nature, will react with anything they come into contact with. For example, when sulphuric acid reacts with iron it creates ferricyanide, which has the effect of turning the iron into gas. In fact, the most common way in which sulphur is used in chemistry is as a catalyst. A catalytic reaction between two chemicals causes them to interact and produce a stronger mixture than would have been produced otherwise. For example, when nitric oxide is given a catalyst it becomes more reactive and can combine with more oxygen molecules, thus becoming a stronger chemical agent than it was originally.
Sulphuric acid is formed from the natural elements calcium, boron and sulphur. It is known to be a weak oxidizing agent and has been used widely in chemistry as an antiseptic, antifungal, antibacterial and disinfectant. This fact has led to the production of many useful drugs containing sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid is the strongest available synthetic acid in the world and its presence in our environment is considerable.
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