A process for cooling an acid that is withdrawn from an absorption apparatus of a sulfuric acid plant includes pumping the acid to be cooled from an acid pump tank and supplying the acid to a shell space of a heat exchanger. Water is supplied as a heat transport medium to heat transfer elements disposed in the shell space so as to at least partially convert, by heat transfer from the acid, the water to steam. The acid which was cooled in the heat exchanger is supplied back to the absorption apparatus. The water is separated from the steam in a steam drum. The separated water is recirculated to the heat exchanger using a pump.