Passage-II : Sulphuric acid is considered as the king of chemicals. The prosperity of any country is measured by the amount of sulphuric acid it consumes. Sulphuric acid is, thus a substance of very great commercial importance as it is used practically in every important industry. This is due to the following properties of sulphuric acidConcentrated H_(2)SO_(4) cannot be used to prepare HBr or HI from KBr or KI because it :

Passage-II : Sulphuric acid is considered as the king of chemicals. T

1.	Passage-II : Sulphuric acid is considered as the king of chemicals. The prosperity of any country is measured by the amount of sulphuric acid it consumes. Sulphuric acid is, thus a substance of very great commercial importance as it is used practically in every important industry. This is due to the following properties of sulphuric acidConcentrated H_(2)SO_(4) cannot be used to prepare HBr or HI from KBr or KI because it :
Answer» reacts too SLOWLY with KBr or KI reduces HBr or HI OxidizesHBr or HI Oxidizes KBr to `KBrO_(3)` or KI to `KIO_(3)`. SOLUTION :Oxidizes HBr (or) HI to `Br_(2) and I_(2)` `2HBr+H_(2)SO_(4) to SO_(2)+2H_(2)O+Br_(2)` `2HI+H_(2)SO_(4) to SO_(2)+H_(2)O+I_(2)`