1. Disposal and End Use of Sulfur
Glenn Beatty, Marcus Cole, Chris Descalzi & Daniel Venooker
Marcus

2. Sources of Sulfur
Sulfur is found naturally in all sorts of fossil fuels, generally around 1%
by weight, in the form of H2S.
83% of energy annually consumed in the US comes from fossil fuels:
6.87 billion barrels of crude oil
889.2 million shorts tons of coal
25.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas
Glenn

3. Excessive Sulfur
Combustion of hydrogen sulfide leads to SO2, a harmful acid rain producing pollutant. There are restrictions on the sulfur content of various fuels (Clean Air Act)
Crude oil contains as high as 1.2 wt% sulfur naturally, much higher than the few ppm allowed (depending on type of fuel)
Chris

4. Common End Uses of Sulfur
Disposal → well reinjection
Sulfuric Acid
Fertilizer
Other Agricultural Chemicals
Ore Leaching
Petroleum Industry
Dan

5. Recovered Sulfur
86% of recovered sulfur production came from petroleum refineries or satellite plants that treated refinery gases and coking plants; 14% at natural gas treatment plants (2011)
9.05 million tons of sulfur were produced in the U.S. in 2012, valued at $1.3 billion dollars.
Generally consumed into one of two forms:
Elemental sulfur (S) - 9% total consumption
Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) - 90% total consumption
Marcus

6. Uses of Sulfuric Acid Typical production method:
Combustion: H2S O2 = H2O + SO kJ/mole
Oxidation: SO2 + ½O2 = SO kJ/mole (in the presence of a vanadium (V) oxide catalyst)
Hydration: SO3 + H2O = H2SO4 (g) kJ/mole
Condensation: H2SO4 (g) = H2SO4 (l) kJ/mole
Most universally used mineral acid and most produced/consumed inorganic chemical (by volume)
Vital to every sector of world’s chemical industry
Glenn

7. Chemical Industry Oil Refining:
Sulfuric acid has become quite abundant, and can be used to produce other desirable chemicals:
Hydrochloric acid
Nitric acid
Sulfate salts
Rayon
Synthetic detergents
Dyes and pigments
Oil Refining:
Sulfuric acid is washes impurities out of gasoline and other refinery products.
Metal Processing:
Sulfuric acid is used in pickling (cleaning) iron and steel before plating them with tin or zinc.
Dan (This slide needs a picture)

8. Car Batteries
Sulfuric acid is found in lead acid batteries, serving as the electrolyte for electron transfer.
The aqueous solution used contains about 33% H2SO4, and is commonly called battery acid.
When the battery runs, SA reacts with the lead plates making lead sulfate, this is reversed when recharged.
Marcus

9. Ore Leaching Leaching Process
Dilute Sulfuric Acid is used to dissolve metals out of Ores
Gold
Copper
Nickel
Uranium
Iron
Usually only done in low-grade ore
60-70% recovery
Takes months/years
Chri

10. Additional Uses of H2SO4
Ammonium sulfate production → Fertilizer for alkaline soils
Herbicide
Manufacture of aluminum sulfate → paper industry
Carbon disulfide → Insecticide for fumigation of grains and nursery stock
A primary component of some chemotherapy drugs
US Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act lists sulfuric acid as among the most essential or precursor chemicals
Glenn

11. Uses of Elemental Sulfur
Other Popular uses:
Fungicide
Pesticide
Vulcanization of rubber
Matches
Fireworks
Black powder
Used to be produced from salt mines using the Frasch process:
Superheated water melts and extracts sulfur from deposits
No longer cost effective
Typical production method: Claus Process-
2 H2S + 3 O2 → 2 SO2 + 2 H2O
2 H2S + SO2 → 3 S + 2 H2O
Net: 2 H2S + O2 → S2 + 2 H2O
Major use in fertilizer
Chris

12. Sulfur in Fertilizer
Finely ground elemental sulfur is highly mobile in soil
Allows quick natural oxidation in soil
Sulfur is required by plants at 1:20 ratio with nitrogen
Usually mixed in equal measure with phosphorus
Dan

13. Disposal of Sulfur: Well Reinjection
Hydrogen Sulfide is commonly re-injected into underground wells
Benefits
Comparatively Low Cost
Reliable
No additional process streams required
Drawbacks
Need land for reservoir
Potential contamination and corrosion of metals
H2S has potential combustible energy
Dan

14. Final Thoughts

15. Works Referenced This slide needs work
teeic.anl.gov
infohouse.p2ric.org -
crossmap.christianpost.com
This slide needs work