Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is a very important chemical product. A large amount of the world?s fertilizer production is based on this acid. Phosphoric acid is produced by two different methods. The thermal process where phosphoric acid is produced by the combustion of phosphorus with atmospheric oxygen followed by hydration of the oxide obtained. Owing to its high purity this acid is mainly used in food industry. However, this method is of secondary importance because of the high energy requirement. The wet digestion of phosphate rock with mineral acids is the most important process in terms of volume. In the following, we want to introduce you to phosphoric acid in metallurgy.
Phosphoric acid in metallurgy: Phosphoric acid (PA) is an important industrial chemical used as an intermediate in the fertilizer industry, for metal surface treatment in the metallurgical industry, and as an additive in the food industry. Wet-process PA (WPA) is produced by the attack of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) on phosphate rock (PR). Other wet processes use HCl and posterior solvent extraction technology.
Phosphoric acid, also known as phosphate or [po(OH)3], belongs to the class of inorganic compounds known as non-metal phosphates. These are inorganic non-metallic compounds containing a phosphate as its largest oxoanion. Phosphoric acid has been detected in multiple biofluids, such as feces, urine, and blood. Within the cell, phosphoric acid is primarily located in the cytoplasm. Phosphoric acid exists in all eukaryotes, ranging from yeast to humans. In humans, phosphoric acid is involved in the glutamate metabolism pathway, the glutathione metabolism pathway, the glycerol phosphate shuttle pathway, and the purine metabolism pathway. Phosphoric acid is also involved in several metabolic disorders, some of which include the hypophosphatasia pathway, the leigh syndrome pathway, creatine deficiency, guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency, and L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase deficiency. Phosphoric acid is a potentially toxic compound.
More than 95% of the world demand for phosphoric acid is met by the wet-process, which involves the reaction of the phosphate rock with concentrated sulfuric acid. Pure phosphoric acid is only mildly corrosive to metals. However, the presence of impurities in the phosphate ores like chlorides, fluorides and silicates and the free sulfuric acid lead to complex corrosive conditions. The level of impurity depends on the origin of the phosphates and their processing, e.g. washing the ores with sea water further increases the level of chlorides.
The metallurgy: it has been organized into three main specialties. Each of the three requires a different specialization of the other two. There is, on the one hand, the metallurgy of iron (steel) and, secondly, that of non-ferrous metals, which are divided into precious metals, such as gold, and non-precious, such as aluminium.
The metallurgy covers a wide range of industrial activities including metal recycling, the foundry (in foundries, mills and smelters), the manufacture of raw products through rolling mills, the processing of raw products into semi-finished products, and finally, equipment manufacturing and finished goods for industry (automotive, aerospace, information systems and telecommunications, food packaging, microelectronics, printing, industry and transportation).
Phosphoric acid (H3PO4, PA) is an industrial acid, produced from two main types of phosphate rock: sedimentary and igneous. In the classical wet process, wet process PA is produced by a reaction between the ore and sulphuric acid, forming 30% solids thick slurry, in three stages: acidulation, filtration and concentration to produce a 50%P2O5 acid. In a novel process, the phosphate ore is treated with HCl with the formation of PA and CaCl2; the PA is separated by a solvent extraction technology, obtaining a highly concentrated, food grade PA and recovering the organic solvent. The PA industry has a high level of corrosion risk; therefore, special corrosion resistant materials (metallic and plastic) are applied according to the chemical, mechanical and thermal conditions of the process. Cases of PA production of different qualities and concentrations, by diverse methods in Mexico and Israel, are presented this is a Applications Phosphoric acid.
Phosphoric acid is a very important chemical. This material is widely used in fertilizer and food industries. Phosphoric acid is an industrial acid. Phosphoric acid is also used to purify metal surfaces in the metallurgy industry.