It is also a exothermic process, producing intense heat that can be harnessed to generate power. The only easily extracted sulfur in a SHTF scenario will be at certain volcanic vents and a few hot springs. Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. English chemist Joseph Priestley first synthesized nitrous oxide in 1772 by collecting the gas produced from sprinkling nitric acid over iron filings.Nitrous oxide usually is produced by using the method developed by another English chemist, Humphry Davy, of gently heating ammonium nitrate to decompose it into nitrous oxide and water vapor: CAS Registry No. Sulfuric acid is a major component of acid rain. The simplest reaction that creates sulfur dioxide is the burning of sulfur in the presence of oxygen. It is produced from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) and the smelting of mineral ores (aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, and iron) that contain sulfur. : 7446-09-5 Other Names: Sulphur dioxide, SO 2 Main Uses: To make sulfuric acid, intermediate in bleaching processes, in food processing. Odour: Suffocating Canadian TDG: UN1079 Sulfur dioxide, SO2, is a colorless gas or liquid with a strong, choking odor. Appearance: Colourless gas. This causes a single sulfur atom to combine with a molecule of oxygen to create sulfur dioxide. You can make gunpowder (black powder) without sulfur luckily, but the black powder that uses sulfur is more powerful than black powder without it and easier to ignite. In nature, sulfur dioxide … It is a liquid when under pressure, and it dissolves in water very easily. How to Make It . Sulfur dioxide dissolves easily in water to form sulfuric acid. Sulfur has many uses and making gunpowder is the big one! In the lab we make sulphur dioxide gas by adding sulphuric acid to some sodium metabisulfite powder and warming it. Sulfur dioxide in the air comes mainly from activities such as the burning of coal and oil at power plants or from copper smelting. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) is the most common chemical compound used in winemaking.