Product Overview
Sulfuric Acid 96% ACS Grade is concentrated sulfuric acid (CAS 7664-93-9) offered in pack sizes from 1 quart to 330-gallon totes. It is a colorless, oily, odorless liquid — a strong acid that reacts with water with a release of heat, chars wood and most other organic matter on contact, and is corrosive to metals and tissue. The buyers who order it from us are working operators: battery builders who need electrolyte feedstock, water-treatment plants adjusting pH on alkaline streams, synthesis and biodiesel producers who need a strong acid catalyst, and QC labs that specify the ACS Grade designation in their purchasing documents.
Why This Concentration
96% is the concentrated end of our sulfuric acid line. At this strength you are buying acid, not water — which matters when your process calls for dehydration, catalysis, or dilution to a working strength on site. The trade-off is handling: concentrated sulfuric acid generates significant heat on dilution (always add acid to water, never the reverse) and demands corrosion-resistant transfer equipment and full PPE at every step.
If your process runs at a lower working strength and you would rather receive it pre-diluted, we carry the full ladder: Sulfuric Acid 30% for milder pH-adjustment duty, Sulfuric Acid 37% Battery Acid and Sulfuric Acid 50% Electrolyte Grade for battery service, and Sulfuric Acid 70% in between. On grade: ACS Grade is the designation purity-sensitive labs and analytical workflows typically write into their specs. If your process is less sensitive to trace impurities — bulk pH control, many industrial cleaning duties — Sulfuric Acid 93% Technical Grade is usually the more economical choice at nearly the same strength. Review the SDS and TDS against your own requirements before you commit; that is a faster path to the right grade than guessing.
Chemical Profile
Sulfuric acid, formula H2SO4, molecular weight 98.08, CAS 7664-93-9. It presents as a colorless oily liquid with no odor — which is worth flagging to your crew, because odor gives no warning of exposure. It is denser than water at a density of 1.841 (roughly 15 lb per gallon) and will sink in water. It is miscible with water, dissolving with a strong release of heat. Vapor pressure is low — 1 mmHg at 294.8 °F — so at ambient temperature the liquid itself, not vapor, is the primary contact hazard; heating it produces toxic fumes. On contact it chars wood and most organic matter, though it is unlikely to start a fire on its own.
Industrial Applications
This is one of the most widely used industrial chemicals in North America, and the applications we ship against reflect that:
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Lead-acid battery electrolyte. Concentrated sulfuric acid is the feedstock diluted down to battery electrolyte strength. Shops that dilute in-house buy 96%; shops that want it ready to use buy our electrolyte-grade dilutions.
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pH adjustment in water treatment. Operators dose sulfuric acid to neutralize alkaline process water and wastewater streams before discharge or downstream treatment.
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Chemical synthesis. A workhorse reagent and acid source in synthesis trains, including fertilizer production.
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Dehydrating agent. Its strong affinity for water makes it a standard drying and dehydrating agent in organic synthesis and analytical work.
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Biodiesel production. Used as an acid catalyst in esterification/transesterification steps, particularly on high free-fatty-acid feedstocks.
Handling & Storage
The signal word is Danger. This product may be corrosive to metals and causes severe skin burns and eye damage (per the product's GHS classification). Treat every transfer accordingly: acid-rated gloves, splash goggles or a face shield, and body protection sized to the job — a quart pour and a drum transfer are not the same risk. Keep an eyewash and safety shower within reach of any dispensing point.
Store it cool, dry, and ventilated in corrosion-resistant containers, away from strong bases, organic materials, and reactive metals — contact with incompatibles can be violent. Keep containers tightly closed; concentrated sulfuric acid pulls moisture from the air, which both dilutes the product and generates heat. When diluting, add acid slowly to water with agitation. Never add water to concentrated acid.
Hazmat & Shipping
This product ships as a fully regulated hazardous material. It moves under UN1830 (per 49 CFR 172.101), Hazard Class 8 — Corrosive (per 49 CFR 172.101), Packing Group II (per 49 CFR 172.101), with the proper shipping name Sulfuric acid (per 49 CFR 172.101). Our team packs it in UN-rated packaging with the correct Class 8 labeling and shipping papers prepared before it leaves the dock. If your receiving dock has hazmat acceptance procedures, this classification is what your paperwork will show.
Documentation
A Safety Data Sheet ships with every order and is available in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese — useful when your workforce or your downstream customers work in more than one language. A lot-specific Certificate of Analysis is available for the material you receive, and a Technical Data Sheet is available for spec review before you buy. If your EHS or purchasing team needs documents up front, request them with your quote.
Why Buy from Alliance Chemical
We offer this acid across the full range a buyer actually needs — 1-quart and 1-gallon containers for bench and lab work, 5- and 15-gallon carboys for pilot and production use, and 55-gallon drums up to 275- and 330-gallon totes for bulk consumers — each packed and classed for UN1830 Class 8 transport by people who handle corrosives every working day. Unlike suppliers that broker hazmat and hand the risk to a third party, we pack and ship from our own warehouse in Taylor, Texas, and most in-stock orders ship in 1–2 business days. We have been distributing industrial chemicals since 1998, and the shipping and handling guidance on this page is reviewed by Andre Taki, DOT Hazmat Specialist. If you are weighing 96% ACS against a technical grade or a lower concentration, ask — we will point you to the right product, not the most expensive one.
