rocketscience - 25-11-2004 at 12:33
Is there any possible way to make sulfur from a sulfate or sulfuric acid?
HNO3 - 25-11-2004 at 19:41
Not really answering your question, but I can buy several pounds of it for about $3 as soil sulfur. 
BromicAcid - 25-11-2004 at 20:07
Well, there are a few different topics on this forum that might have the easy answer just buy it, but then again this forum isn't about just
buying most things. However reducing sulfuric acid to sulfur would be a pain in the butt, the only things that really come to mind right now involve
things like:
React boiling sulfuric acid with copper to get SO2, dissolve the SO2 in water till saturated then add zinc dust to reduce the sulfurous acid in
solution to ZnS2O4, to this solution add HCl to produce a solution of H2S2O4 which will decompose along two paths:
4H2S2O4 + 4H2O —> 5H2SO4 + 3H2S
H2S2O4 —> H2SO4 + S
Of course you see sulfur being formed in the second reaction. You could take the H2S being formed and react it with a calculated amount of oxygen
according to:
H2S + 1/2O2 ---> H2O + S
This process is used industrially for some reason. I'm sure you could heat sulfuric acid with some reducing agent directly to form the reduced
series of oxoacids which could decompose to form sulfur. Additionally thermite type mixtures with sulfates may will yield sulfur dioxide which could
be reacted as above, elemental sulfur which would volatize off, and possibly metal sulfides which can be reacted to produce sulfur depending on the
metal cation to which it is associated with.
But this is chemistry, so there are other ways.....
rocketscience - 25-11-2004 at 20:09
from where and is it vary pure
BromicAcid - 25-11-2004 at 20:16
Finding a source for sulfur is as easy as searching google (it's of course widely used in pyrotechnics so it's sources have been very
heavily discussed) or just as easily by searching 'sulfur' in the 'Reagents and Apparatus Acquistion' section here on the forum.
Blackout - 26-11-2004 at 19:54
Does there is a way to extract sulfur from CaSO4, witch is more available then sulfuric acid?
axehandle - 26-11-2004 at 20:21
A decomposition product of CaSO4 at high temperatures (800-1100C?) is SO2+SO3. This could, theoretically, be harnessed to manufacture H2SO4, which
could then be processed as BromicAcid outlined.
Sounds more trouble than it's worth though, even if it does is works.
EDIT: If you can pull this off, you probably have the ability to buy pure sulfur, legally....
[Edited on 2004-11-27 by axehandle]
cyclonite4 - 27-11-2004 at 05:06
You obviously know (as well as all) that sulfur can be bought cheaply and easily from gardening supply, etc.
Can i ask why you are deciding to make it? Is it for curiosity, or you cant get it, or you need very pure sulfur?
JohnWW - 27-11-2004 at 07:21
That reminds me - how much selenium is there on average in sulfur obtained from mining volcanic deposits of it, from extracting it through drilled
holes as molten sulfur from deep deposits in sedimentary rocks, and obtained as a byproduct of oil refining (hydrodesulfurization, to remove thiophene
etc.)? Selenium would be the most likely impurity.
HNO3 - 27-11-2004 at 13:55
According to my1954 Encyclopedia Brittanica, crude sulfur or brimstone in the USA is 99.5-99.9% pure and free from arsenic, selenium, and
tellurium.Italy's best grade sulfur is marketed as best seconds and is 99.5% pure.
HNO3 - 29-11-2004 at 20:15
Sorry about this, but I can't edit. I got my soil sulfur at ACE. the bag says it is 90% sufur, but from my experience with it, it it is more like
99% pure. ( I really need to ignite a sample to see how much ash there is in it)