SULFUR
By Joyce A. Ober
Mrs. Ober, a physical scientist with 16 years of industry and U.S. Bureau
of Mines experience, has been a commodity
specialist since 1986. Domestic survey data were prepared by Pamela G. Shorter,
statistical assistant; and the international
production table was prepared by Ron Hatch, international data coordinator.


Domestic   production  of  sulfur
increased for the first time since 1989,
but consumption declined for the fourth
consecutive year. However, the United
States maintained its position as the
leading producer and consumer of sulfur
and sulfuric acid in the world. The
quantity of sulfur recovered during the
refining of petroleum and the processing
of natural gas continued its upward trend
established in 1938, the year the U.S.
Bureau of Mines (USBM) started
publishing data on the production of this
type of sulfur. The production of sulfur
through the Frasch process was slightly
higher than it had been in 1992 although
listed production data only represents 10
months of Frasch data to conform with
proprietary data requirements. Frasch
production increased as a result of
significant improvements in production
rates at the newest Frasch mine. Total
production of sulfur from all sources
increased but shipments decreased and
stocks grew.
Byproduct sulfuric acid from the


Natlon's  nonrerrous  smelters  and
roasters, essentially mandated by laws
concerning sulfur dioxide emissions,
supplied a significant quantity of sulfuric
acid to the domestic merchant acid
market. Marketing continued to be
difficult for some producers because
smelters were near western copper mines
and far from major sulfuric acid markets.
Worldwide, sulfur production was
virtually unchanged from that of 1992,
with a 13 % decrease in Frasch production
and a 6 % increase in the amount
recovered from petroleum and natural gas
processing. Frasch production was lower
because the final Mexican mine closed
during the year, Polish mines operated at
low rates, Iraq had not resumed full
Production following the war in the


Persian Gulf, and political and economic
problems continued in Eastern Europe
and the former U.S.S.R. Recovered
elemental production increased in Asia,
the Middle East, North America, and
Western Europe; decreased in Eastern
Europe and the former U.S.S.R.; and
remained about the same in the rest of the
world.   Nearly three-quarters of the
world's elemental sulfur production came
from recovered sources; the quantity of
sulfur supplied from these sources was
dependent on the world demand for fuels
and petroleum products, not on the
demand for sulfur.
World sulfur consumption decreased
an estimated 8 %.    Consumption in
fertilizer production decreased, and
consumption for a myriad of industrial
uses continued to be pressured by
environmental constraints placed on the
products produced or effluents from the
chemical processes utilizing sulfur or its
major derivative, sulfuric acid.
World trade of elemental sulfur
decreased by an estimated 1.7 million
metric tons, about 11%  below levels
recorded in 1992. U.S. sulfur inventories
increased 64% during 1993, and
worldwide producers' stocks of elemental
sulfur increased a more modest 11%.
(See table I andfigure 1.)


DOMESTIC DATA COVERAGE


Domestic production data for sulfur
are developed by the USBM from four
separate,  voluntary  surveys  of
U.S. operations.  Typical of  these
surveys is the "Elemental Sulfur"
survey. Of the 175 operations to which
a survey request was sent, all but 1
responded, representing virtually 100% of
the total production shown in table 1.
Production data for the nonrespondent


was obtained from another public source.
BACKGROUND


Sulfur, through its major derivative
sulfuric acid, ranks as one of the more
important elements utilized by humanity
as an industrial raw material. It is of
prime importance to every sector of the
world's industrial and fertilizer
complexes. Sulfuric acid consumption
has been regarded as one of the best
indexes  of   a   nation's  industrial
development.
Also known as brimstone, 'the stone
that burns," sulfur was used in small
quantities for thousands of years.
Ancient people were probably first drawn
to native sulfur by its bright yellow color
and pungent odor. Early humanity used
sulfur as a colorant for cave drawings, as
a fumigant, for medicinal purposes, and
as incense. As early as 2000 B.C., the
Egyptians used sulfur in the bleaching of
linen textiles. In the Odyssey, Homer
refers to its use as a fumigant. During
the Peloponnesian War, fifth century
B.C., the Greeks burned a sulfur-pitch
mixture to generate suffocating gases.
The Romans combined brimstone with
tar, pitch, and other combustible
materials to produce the first incendiary
weapons. Muslims during the "Golden
Age of Arabic Science," from about A.D.
700, developed alchemy and were
probably the first producers of sulfuric
acid. Sulfur is a necessary ingredient in
gunpowder, which was developed as a
pyrotechnic in China by the 10th century.
Gunpowder's introduction into Europe led
to its use in warfare in the 14th century
and made sulfur an important mineral
commodity for the first time.
However, it was not until the birth of
the science of chemistry in the 1700's and


JLFUR-1993






1165