World Production of Liquid SO₂ and SO₃

Abstract

The world production of liquid SO₂ and liquid SO₃ has increased considerably due to production of specialty chemicals required for petroleum, pharmaceutical and dye industires. The percentage distribution of demand is indicated in the table in Chap. 4. This is likely to change due to large scale demands for petroleum, pharmaceuticals and dye industries. Manufacture of liquid SO₂ has gone into a radical change to reduce raw material and utility costs. Comparative production pattern indicates the closing down of liquid SO₂ plants which were uneconomical and growth of plant capacity using direct process of reacting under pressure liquid sulphur and liquid SO₃ under stoichiometric proportion by the reaction

$${\text{S}} + 2{\text{SO}}_{3} = 3{\text{SO}}_{2} \Delta{\text{H}} = - 99 \, {\text{KJ}} \, {\text{mole}}.$$