Sulphur price soars on fertiliser demand (windfall for refineries)

[phantom power]

An ugly waste product of oil refining has been transformed into a golden windfall for energy companies as demand for fertilisers drives the price of sulphur to unprecedented levels.

For decades oil refiners have struggled to shift stockpiles of the yellow chemical, which is used to make sulphuric acid, essential in the manufacture of fertilisers. Food shortages and higher grain prices are boosting demand for fertilisers, and in only a year the price of sulphur has risen more than tenfold from $50 a tonne to $500 a tonne, according to ICIS, the chemicals-pricing service.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4055

[kestrel91316]

1. Well, at least it's not going to waste or being dumped.......

Our soils here in the SW do better with a little sulfur added - the soil pH is pretty high naturally.....

[phantom power]

2. The coming resource shortages will certainly inspire waste reduction.

Which is good, all other things being equal.

[kestrel91316]

3. We're gonna be mining all our landfills for resources some day.....

Heaven knows there's enough buried in them.

[madokie]

5. It sure looks like that will be the case

and the not too distant future too.

[nykym]

4. And this is where the oil giants

are really reaping the big profits! When they cry desperation about only getting $.03 - $.04 on the dollar from gasoline production, Remember it's all the petro chemical waste products from refining that makes them rich.