Chemical Economies

Chemical Economies

Sulfur is one of the chemical industry’s most important raw materials.It is used principally as the derivate ( sulfuric acid) in many chemical and industrial processes and is particularly imporytant in manufacture of phosphate fertilizers, the single largest and use for other key uses include rubber processing, cosmetics and pharmacatical applications.sulfur’s importance to industrial economoes and its relative ease to transportation have made it a commodity of major of international interest .It is derived as a by_product from operation such as petroleum refining tar sands recovery , heavy oil and natural gas processing and from coking and matallurigical plants.In the past five years, sulfur production has been affected by reduced natural gas processing a shift in feedstock mixes from sour to slightly sweet crude , depletion of certain natural gas fields, and changes in demand from some types of fuel.However,production increased by 8% with new plants developed in the middle east and mainland china’s growing coal chemical industry that has developed strict environmental standards which has led to the establishment of many sulfur recovery plants.Approximately 90_95% of elemental sulfur recovered is used to produce sulfuric acid .In recent years , sulfur use is increasing as a nutrient through ammonium phosphate dwrivatives and NPK compounds that are blended with sulfur .Fertilizers are the ultimate use of about 50 % of the world’s sulfur production,  phosphate fertilizer production accounts for about 85% of this total ,but ammonium sulfur production is also significant thus, the sulfur market is very dependent on cyclical global phosphate fertilizer market.phosphate production in main land china plays an important role determining sulfur requirments .Africa has also gained importance as a significant global importer.Demand from downstream products such as sulfiric_acid based single superphosphate and potassium sulfur contributes to sulfur demand.There are no substitutes for phosphate in their role as plant nutrient .After a recent slump, there are indications that sulfur demand is improving , given that the production of di_and monoammonium phosphate in main land china has been increasing , A similar increase in demand is also happening in india.

Although this plants designed primarily to produce ammonium phosphate , they are often used to produce NPK ,fertilizers as well as sulfur as a nutrient.

Global sulfur supply is expected to continue to grow from both crude refining and natural gas processing operations.Future production will occure mostly in the middle east ,Asia ,and Eastern europe while regions like North America ,western Earope and japan are likely to experience reduced production levels.Potential expansions in the UAE as well as projects in Kuwait, Qatar and Sudi Arabia are adding significant supplies as a result of hydrocarbon processing ,several expansions in Easter Europe will redult in Sulfur production increases.