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Oleum (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''oleum'', meaning oil), or fuming sulfuric acid, is a term referring to solutions of various compositions of
sulfur trioxide in
sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
, or sometimes more specifically to
disulfuric acid
Disulfuric acid (alternative spelling disulphuric acid) or pyrosulfuric acid (alternative spelling pyrosulphuric acid), also named oleum, is a sulfur oxoacid. It is a major constituent of fuming sulfuric acid, oleum, and this is how most chemists ...
(also known as pyrosulfuric acid).
Oleum is identified by the CAS number 8014-95-7 (EC/List number: 616-954-1
ECHA InfoCard: 100.116.872.
Oleums can be described by the formula ''y''SO
3·H
2O where ''y'' is the total molar mass of sulfur trioxide content. The value of ''y'' can be varied, to include different oleums. They can also be described by the formula H
2SO
4·''x''SO
3 where ''x'' is now defined as the molar free sulfur trioxide content. Oleum is generally assessed according to the free SO
3 content by mass. It can also be expressed as a percentage of sulfuric acid strength; for oleum concentrations, that would be over 100%. For example, 10% oleum can also be expressed as H
2SO
4·''0.13611''SO
3, ''1.13611''SO
3·H
2O or 102.25% sulfuric acid. The conversion between % acid and % oleum is: % acid = 100 + 18/80 × % oleum
For ''x'' = 1 and ''y'' = 2 the
empirical formula
In chemistry, the empirical formula of a chemical compound is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms present in a compound. A simple example of this concept is that the empirical formula of sulfur monoxide, or SO, would simply be SO, as is th ...
H
2S
2O
7 for
disulfuric (pyrosulfuric) acid is obtained. Pure disulfuric acid is a solid at room temperature, melting at 36 °C and rarely used either in the laboratory or industrial processes.
Production
Oleum is produced in the
contact process, where
sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
is oxidized to
sulfur trioxide which is subsequently dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid itself is regenerated by dilution of part of the oleum.
The
lead chamber process
The lead chamber process was an industrial method used to produce sulfuric acid in large quantities. It has been largely supplanted by the contact process.
In 1746 in Birmingham, England, John Roebuck began producing sulfuric acid in lead-lined ...
for sulfuric acid production was abandoned, partly because it could not produce sulfur trioxide or concentrated sulfuric acid directly due to corrosion of the lead, and absorption of NO
2 gas. Until this process was made obsolete by the contact process, oleum had to be obtained through indirect methods. Historically, the biggest production of oleum came from the
distillation
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...
of
iron sulfate Iron sulfate may refer to:
* Ferrous sulfate, Iron(II) sulfate
Iron(II) sulfate (British English: iron(II) sulphate) or ferrous sulfate denotes a range of salts with the formula Fe SO4·''x''H2O. These compounds exist most commonly as the hept ...
s at
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
* Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
**Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
* Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost ...
, from which the historical name Nordhausen sulfuric acid is derived.
Applications
Sulfuric acid production
Oleum is an important intermediate in the manufacture of sulfuric acid due to its high
enthalpy
Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant ...
of
hydration Hydration may refer to:
* Hydrate, a substance that contains water
* Hydration enthalpy, energy released through hydrating a substance
* Hydration reaction, a chemical addition reaction where a hydroxyl group and proton are added to a compound
* ...
. When SO
3 is added to water, rather than dissolving, it tends to form a fine mist of sulfuric acid, which is difficult to manage. However, SO
3 added to concentrated sulfuric acid readily dissolves, forming oleum which can then be diluted with water to produce additional concentrated sulfuric acid.
Typically, above concentrations of 98.3%, sulfuric acid will undergo a spontaneous
decomposition
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...
into sulfur trioxide and water
:
This means that sulfuric acid above said concentration will readily degenerate until it reaches 98.3%; this is impractical in some applications such as synthesis where anhydrous conditions are preferred (like alcohol eliminations). The addition of sulfur trioxide allows the concentration to be increased by means of
Le Chatelier's principle
Le Chatelier's principle (pronounced or ), also called Chatelier's principle (or the Equilibrium Law), is a principle of chemistry used to predict the effect of a change in conditions on chemical equilibria. The principle is named after French c ...
.
As an intermediate for transportation
Oleum is a useful form for transporting sulfuric acid compounds, typically in rail tank cars, between oil refineries (which produce various sulfur compounds as a byproduct of refining) and industrial consumers.
Certain compositions of oleum are solid at room temperature, and thus are safer to ship than as a liquid. Solid oleum can be converted into liquid at the destination by steam heating or dilution or concentration. This requires care to prevent overheating and evaporation of sulfur trioxide. To extract it from a tank car requires careful heating using steam conduits inside the tank car. Great care must be taken to avoid overheating, as this can increase the pressure in the tank car beyond the tank's
safety valve
A safety valve is a valve that acts as a fail-safe. An example of safety valve is a pressure relief valve (PRV), which automatically releases a substance from a boiler, pressure vessel, or other system, when the pressure or temperature exceeds ...
limit.
In addition, oleum is less corrosive to metals than sulfuric acid, because there is no free water to attack surfaces. Because of that, sulfuric acid is sometimes concentrated to oleum for in-plant pipelines and then diluted back to acid for use in industrial reactions.
In
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council. in 1993 a significant release occurred due to overheating, causing a release of sulfur trioxide that absorbed moisture from the atmosphere, creating a mist of micrometre-sized sulfuric acid particles that formed an inhalation health hazard. This mist spread over a wide area.
Organic chemistry research
Oleum is a harsh reagent, and is highly corrosive. One important use of oleum as a reagent is the secondary nitration of
nitrobenzene. The first
nitration
In organic chemistry, nitration is a general class of chemical processes for the introduction of a nitro group into an organic compound. The term also is applied incorrectly to the different process of forming nitrate esters between alcohols an ...
can occur with nitric acid in sulfuric acid, but this deactivates the ring towards further electrophilic substitution. A stronger reagent, oleum, is needed to introduce the second nitro group onto the aromatic ring.
Explosives manufacture
Oleum is used in the manufacture of many
explosives with the notable exception of
nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
. (In modern manufacturing of nitrocellulose, the H
2SO
4 concentration is often adjusted using oleum.) The chemical requirements for explosives manufacture often require anhydrous mixtures containing
nitric acid
Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...
and
sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
. Ordinary commercial grade nitric acid consists of the constant boiling
azeotrope
An azeotrope () or a constant heating point mixture is a mixture of two or more liquids whose proportions cannot be altered or changed by simple distillation.Moore, Walter J. ''Physical Chemistry'', 3rd e Prentice-Hall 1962, pp. 140–142 This ...
of nitric acid and water, and contains 68% nitric acid. Mixtures of ordinary nitric acid in sulfuric acid therefore contain substantial amounts of water and are unsuitable for processes such as those that occur in the manufacture of
trinitrotoluene
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...
.
The synthesis of
RDX
RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...
and certain other explosives does not require oleum.
Anhydrous nitric acid, referred to as
white fuming nitric acid
Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nit ...
, can be used to prepare water-free
nitration
In organic chemistry, nitration is a general class of chemical processes for the introduction of a nitro group into an organic compound. The term also is applied incorrectly to the different process of forming nitrate esters between alcohols an ...
mixtures, and this method is used in laboratory scale operations where the cost of material is not of primary importance. Fuming nitric acid is hazardous to handle and transport, because it is extremely corrosive and volatile. For industrial use, such strong
nitration
In organic chemistry, nitration is a general class of chemical processes for the introduction of a nitro group into an organic compound. The term also is applied incorrectly to the different process of forming nitrate esters between alcohols an ...
mixtures are prepared by mixing oleum with ordinary commercial nitric acid so that the free sulfur trioxide in the oleum consumes the water in the nitric acid.
[Urbanski, Vol 1, pp 347–349]
Reactions
Like concentrated sulfuric acid, oleum is such a strong dehydrating agent that if poured onto powdered
glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...
, or virtually any other
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
, it will draw the hydrogen elements of water out of the sugar in an exothermic reaction, leaving a residue of nearly pure carbon as a solid. This carbon expands outward, hardening as a solid black substance with gas bubbles in it.
References
{{sulfur compounds
Sulfates
Sulfur oxoacids
Acids