Sulfur is a non-metallic chemical element and is identified by the letter S. Sulfur is a valuable commodity and necessary component of the world economy. It is used to produce a variety of goods that include fertilizers, chemicals, paints, rubber products, medicines, fibers, sugar, detergents, plastics, paper, and more. Sulfur also is an important nutrient for crops, animals, and people.
FAQs
Sulfur is found naturally in the environment and is the thirteenth most abundant element in the earth’s crust. It is mined in its elemental form, although this method has diminished over the last decade to less than 2% of world production. Almost all of elemental sulfur is obtained as a co-product recovered from oil and gas production.
Sulfur is an element. Sulfur that is mined or recovered from oil and gas production is known as elemental sulfur or brimstone. Sulfur can be conjoined with various other elements to form different compounds. Sulfur compounds, like sulfuric acid, are produced as a by-product of ferrous and non-ferrous metal smelting. Other compounds, such as sulfur dioxide, are emitted from petroleum products used in cars and coal generating electricity. Plants absorb sulfur from the soil as sulfate.
Most sulfur derived fertilizer materials can be separated into two groups:
- Elemental sulfur fertilizers , Elemental sulfur-containing fertilizers are the most intense sulfur carriers, making them generally the least expensive method to add sulfur to soil. Elemental sulfur is not water soluble which reduces losses from leaching and runoff. Products such as Montana Sulphur’s Disintegrating Sulphur Granules, which is a sulfur-bentonite mixture, have improved the effectiveness of elemental sulfur by providing 90% elemental sulfur in a physical form that can be used for application and bulk mixing with very little dust and be transformed more readily to sulfate form in the soil.
- Sulfate fertilizers. Sulfate fertilizers have a low concentration of sulfur making them a more expensive sulfur fertilizer option. Sulfate is highly soluble in water which greatly increases fertilizer losses from leaching and runoff.
- Lower sulfur dioxide emissions are reducing atmospheric availability, one of the important historical sources of sulfur for agriculture around industrial areas. More stringent environmental regulations in Western Europe, North America and increasingly in developing countries have reduced atmospheric sulfur deposition, which leads to the sulfur deficiency in agriculture.
- More sulfur is removed from the soil as a result of an increase in agricultural creation by expanding fertilizer use, intensifying cropping systems, promoting high-yield crop varieties, and improving irrigation.
- Less sulfur is added to the soil due to the increasing proportions of high-analysis, sulfur-free fertilizers, such as urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), and potassium chloride; decreasing use of traditional organic manures and sulfur-containing fertilizers, such as single superphosphate and ammonium sulfate, and sulfur containing pesticides.
Sulfur fertilizer can improve crop yields and produce significant economic returns to farmers. Sulfur fertilization also increases overall fertilizer performance.
Following nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, sulfur is an essential plant nutrient. It contributes to an improvement in crop returns in a few different ways:
- It provides a direct nutritive value;
- It gives indirect nutritive value as soil supplements, particularly for calcareous and saline-alkali soils; and
- It increases the performance of other necessary plant nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus. Sulfur is essential for plant maturity and nutrition.
Most crops remove 13 to 27 lb of sulfur per acre (15 to 30 kg of sulfur per hectare). Oil crops, legumes, forages, and some vegetables require more sulfur than phosphorus for optimal yield and quality. Plants hold as much sulfur as phosphorus, with an average content of approximately 0.25%. Usual suggestions for correcting deficiency are:
- 13 to 27 lb of sulfur per acre (15 to 30 kg of sulfur per hectare) for cereal crops and silage grass.
- 22 to 47 lb of sulfur per acre (25 to 50 kg of sulfur per hectare) for oil crops, legume, sugarcane, and some vegetable crops.
Elemental sulfur is produced all over the world. The biggest production occurs where sour gas and oil is processed and refined: the United States, Canada, Russia, and West Asia.
Yes, more than half of all elemental sulfur produced is traded internationally. China is the world’s largest importer, followed by Morocco and the United States. Canada is the largest exporter, followed by Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Sulfur is the main source of creation of sulfuric acid, the world’s leading chemical. Sulfuric acid is an essential component in many processes in the chemical and industrial industries. Sulfuric acid is also used in the fertilizer industry to create primarily phosphates, nitrogen, potassium, and sulfate fertilizers. It is also used in producing other commodities, including non-ferrous metals, pigments, fibers, hydrofluoric acid, carbon disulfide, pharmaceuticals, agricultural pesticides, personal care products, cosmetics, synthetic rubber vulcanization, water treatment, and steel pickling.
Sulfur asphalt (SA), also referred to as sulfur bitumen or sulfur extended asphalt (SEA), is a functional option for asphalt road binder, a process in which sulfur is used to extend asphalt supplies as a means of energy economy by decreasing asphalt demand. Coupled with dried and heated gravel and sand, either asphalt or SA can be used to make “hot mix” paving materials and construct roads. For more detailed information about sulfur asphalt and its use as construction materials worldwide, please see TSI’s Publications.
Sulfur concrete is a comparatively new corrosion-resistant element that comprises of stones, sand, mineral filter, and sulfur polymer cement (chemically modified sulfur) binder. Sulfur concrete is created and held at an elevated temperature. It rapidly gains intense strength after a few hours of cooling and produces a financially conscientious, long-term performance in many harsh conditions.
Montana Sulphur removes dangerous acid gases produced by the oil refinement process and reacts them with air to produce molten sulfur, which we use to manufacture fertilizer products and industrial sulfur products.
