Keywords: Sulphur, By-product, Sulphuric acid, Fertiliser industry.

Sulphur is an important raw material for the fertiliser industry. While in the past it was mined in the form of pyrites or elemental sulphur, today three-quarters of the world’s sulphur production comes from the gas and oil industry and non-ferrous smelters as by-product.

The chemical industry and power stations also produce some by-product sulphur but the quantities are very small and they are of minor importance. Some of the more established technologies to recover sulphur in the form of elemental sulphur, sulphuric acid, or gypsum are described. The product qualities achieved in these processes allow their use in the fertiliser industry. The supply of these by-products seems to be secure for the coming years. Infrastructure and plant concepts have to be adjusted to meet the needs of both the producers and the consumers in an optimal way.

H J König and P Lüdtke, Lurgi Metallurgie GmbH, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.

32 pages, 23 figures, 8 tables, 4 refs.