Since the beginning of recorded history, sulfur has played a role both in human commerce and folklore, being branded ‘brimstone’ by ancient civilizations which associated its vibrant coloration and rotten odor with infernal activities. There are few commodities which were traded in ancient times and are still traded in significant quantities today, but sulfur has been in demand since man first braved the sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide rich volcanic clouds to capture the bright yellow treasure.

General Properties of Sulfur

Sulfur is something of a strange material. At room temperature it assumes a solid crystalline form which boasts a stunning bright yellow coloration, however when molten it takes on a deep red color, and when lit it burns with a bright blue flame. Sulfur melts at 115 degrees Celsius, and boils at 444 degrees Celsius.

Elemental sulfur is insoluble in water, and is not a good conductor of electricity. At room temperature, sulfur is a solid, most often taking on a orthorhombic crystalline structure, though others are possible. Sulfur readily forms sulfides and sulfates when it combined with other elements and metals, with notable exceptions to this rule being silver and gold.

Uses of Sulfur

Sulfur is used in a wide range of applications. From being an essential ingredient in the process of vulcanizing rubber, to combating acne, sulfur is a very versatile element, which explains why it has been in such great demand for centuries. Sulfur is of course the basic ingredient of sulfuric acid, which is the most widely manufactured acid in the world. Sulfur also finds uses in gun powder, explosives, medicines, cosmetics, fungicides, pesticides, fumigants, matches, cements and animal feed, to name but a few.

Types of Sulfur

Sulfur can be found in many different states. Below are some common terms associated with commercially traded sulfur and related sulfur products.

Elemental Sulfur

Elemental sulfur is normally defined as sulfur which is more than 99.5% pure. In its most pure state, sulfur has no odor, is tasteless, and forms yellow crystals at room temperature. Elemental sulfur can be refined from crude or native sulfur, or extracted from natural gas or crude oil.

Crude Sulfur

Crude sulfur is a term given to sulfur mined from natural deposits which is tainted with impurities. Crude sulfur is also sometimes known as brimstone, and is often found near regions of volcanic activity, where oxidation reactions form sulfur dioxide, which smells like matches, only much more strongly, and hydrogenation of sulfides creates hydrogen sulfide which is responsible for the familiar ‘rotting egg’ smell that is commonly associated with sulfur.

Native Sulfur

Native sulfur is sulfur which can be found in natural crystalline form, usually in deposits around areas of high volcanic activity. Native sulfur is also sometimes known as ‘free sulfur’.

Elemental Sulfur Extraction

The bulk of the world’s sulfur is now extracted from natural gas and crude oil. Historically sulfur was obtained exclusively by mining, and sulfur mining is a tradition which stretches back around three thousand years, with records of Sicilian sulfur being traded as early as 900 BCE. Sulfur mining continues today in some parts of the world, however the practice has dwindled drastically in the past ten years or so, thanks to developments such as the Claus process which have enabled sulfur to be removed from crude oil and natural gas where it is not wanted, and to be converted from a poisonous gas into a useful and tradeable form.

Once little more than a toxic nuisance, hydrogen sulfide, the foul smelling gas which earned native sulfur deposits their moniker ‘brimstone’, has now become the primary source of sulfur in the world. Hydrogen sulfide doesn’t just smell bad, it is also extremely toxic and can cause death if inhaled in large amounts, though perhaps counter intuitively, there are small amounts of hydrogen sulfide naturally present in the healthy human body. It is important that care is taken when one is exposed to hydrogen sulfide as it quickly dulls the sense of smell, lulling people into a sense of security even as they are slowly poisoned to death.

The Claus Process

The Claus process is one by which hydrogen sulfide is removed from natural gas, crude oil and other similar substances, and transformed into the valuable elemental sulfur. The most popular of commercially viable extraction methods, the Claus process is fairly complicated, combining both thermal and catalytic reactions to achieve its final goal. A simplified explanation of the outline of the process follows.

To begin with, hydrogen sulfide is burned, which produces water and sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide and the remaining hydrogen sulfide then react with one another in what has been termed the Claus reaction, producing sulfur and water. This process is then furthered with the addition of catalytic agents which continue the reaction, yielding greater amounts of elemental sulfur than would otherwise be yielded by the reaction.

It is not an overstatement to say that the Claus process truly has revolutionized the sulfur industry, removing the need for native sulfur mining which should help preserve some landscapes along the Pacific Ring of fire which had become eroded and pitted due to sulfur mining. Though less native sulfur mining means fewer jobs for the laborers doing the back breaking work, it also means fewer deaths and less pulmonary disease related to exposure to sulfur dioxide. The sulfur obtained from the Claus process is also of a much higher purity in most instances than that which is obtained from native sulfur deposits mined then refined using various types of burning processes.

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Once an essential step in the process of obtaining crude sulphur, the mining of natural sulphur deposits has fueled economies for centuries. Though the greater percentage of the world’s sulphur is now extracted from oil and natural gas, mining for ‘native sulphur’, sulphur found naturally in crystal form in the earth, continues in countries such as Indonesia, and Bolivia. In relatively poor countries such as these, mining provides a valuable source of income for locals who risk their lives by working dangerous volcanic regions for the valuable mineral.

The History Of Sulphur Mining

Historically, crude sulphur was mined almost exclusively in Sicily, where areas of heightened volcanic activity assured large deposits of the natural mineral. Sulphur exports from Sicily are said to have begun as early as 900 BCE, making sulphur one of the earliest traded mineral commodities in the world. Sulphur was sometimes mined in open cast mines and dragged and carried to the surface by workers in a manner which is mirrored by miners in some poorer nations to this day. In other cases, tunnels were dug into the sulphur deposits and workers would travel deep underground to obtain the previous mineral.

The Sicilian sulphur industry was eventually superceeded by mines in Asia and North and South America, where sulphur was more plentiful due to not having been mined constantly for almost three thousand years, easily accessible, and cheaper to obtain due to lower labor costs.

Though mining for native sulphur deposits is in a steep decline from which it is unlikely to recover, there are still several different methods of native sulphur mining currently in use on the world stage. Which one is used depends on the locality, the technology available in the region, and the supply of cheap labor.

Sulphur Mining Methods

A relatively non labor intensity form of mining native sulphur deposits, the Frasch process was developed to reach sulphur deposits trapped under layers of quicksand which made traditional mining impossible. This process was developed by an American scientist, Herbert Frasch in order to exploit the now famous Louisiana sulphur deposits. The Frasch process involves drilling into the deposits and inserting a series of large concentric metal tubes. The outer tubes are fed with superheated steam which melts the surrounding sulphur, then compressed air is driven into the center tube, forcing the liquid sulphur up to the surface where it can be collected and cooled. This form of mining is fairly energy intensive, but is less wearing and dangerous for the miners than traditional methods. It also has the added advantage of producing high purity sulphur without the need for further refining. Though the Frasch process is perhaps one of the most humane forms of sulphur mining, resulting in far fewer injuries, job related deaths and less chronic disease than in the case of traditional forms of mining, economics and geography make it an impractical system in poorer and more mountainous regions of the world.

In Indonesia, mining takes place in the country’s volcanic craters, where sulphur deposits can often simply be broken off from the surrounding rock with the use of a stout pole and then picked up, or alternatively blasted free of surrounding material. Indonesian miners are very poor but strong men who spend their days traveling up and down the sides of the volcanic mountain, working in amongst clouds of poisonous volcanic gases as they toil to extract the sulphur ore. Sulphur dioxide alone often causes severe lung damage to the workers who must climb over ten miles up to the crater and descend again with hundreds of pounds of sulphur balanced in baskets over their shoulders. This is the face of traditional mining, and though it is certainly dangerous and back breaking, it does pay five times higher than other forms of laboring.

Bolivian boasts some very high purity sulphur deposits with a natural purity of over 99.5%. The Bolivian sulphur mine El Desierto is famous for the high purity sulphur which is mined by teams of male and female miners who work the open pit mines, blasting the sulphur free with dynamite, then breaking up the large rocks into smaller ones just a few inches across and then collecting the rocks for processing in large autoclaves which melt the sulphur down. Bolivian sulphur refining technology has not evolved much since the 1940’s when it was instituted.

In the Bolivian method, sulphur rich rocks are placed in large autoclaves, which are heated to over 300 degrees Centigrade. Sulphur has a melting point of around 115 degrees centigrade, and within an hour, it has entirely melted and sunk to the bottom of the autoclave where it is drained and collected.

Outlook For Crude Sulphur Mining

Mining for crude sulphur is likely to continue to abate as other forms of sulphur production become more popular. Sulphur contamination in crude oil has provided a major source of sulphur, and whilst mined sulphur made up for around a third of the world’s total sulphur supply in 1990, it now makes up less than one percent, with sulphur extracted from crude oil and natural gas making up for around 98% of the world’s total sulphur production.

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