From the German, Kontaktverfahren, meaning catalytic process. The process now universally used for making sulfuric acid. Sulfur dioxide, made either by burning sulfur or by roasting sulfide ores, is oxidized to sulfur trioxide over a heterogeneous catalyst, typically containing vanadia, and then absorbed in sulfuric acid in several stages. The process has a long, complex history, involving various methods for overcoming catalyst poisoning