Abstract
Sulfur is a chemical element rather common in nature, the average mass content
of which in the earth' s crust being 0.05%, and 0.09% in the sea and ocean
water. Sulfur and its combinations usually occur in solid, liquid and gaseous
states. Solid sulfur (brimstone) is the most common type, as well as its
minerals, such as pyrite (FeS2), chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), galena (PbS), black
jack (ZnS), and the sulfate rock, such as barite (BaSO4) and gypsum
(CaSO4·2H2O). Besides, sulfur makes a part of natural coal and albumens.
Over a half of sulfur obtained in the world is used for producing sulfuric
acid, while 25% of the substance obtained is used at production of sulfuric
salts (mainly sulfites). The rest of the product is used in rubber-processing
industry (as curing agent), in agriculture (for coping with diseases of
plants, mainly of vine and cotton-plant), at production of colorants and
luminous compounds, artificial fiber, matches and explosives.
Sulfur plays a special role in medicine, where the ability of sulfur is used
of interaction with organic substances of human body forming sulfides and
penta-carbothionic acid, the presence of which influence antimicrobial and
antiparasitic effects.
Sulfur combinations are one of the major polluting agents for environment. The
principal source of their formation is burning of coal and oil products. At
that, 96% of sulfur goes to air in the form of SO2, and the rest are sulfates,
H2S, CS2, COS, and other combinations. Besides the negative ecological effect,
elemental sulfur, in powder form, brings irritation to respiratory apparatus,
mucous membrane, and leads to eczema. MPC in air is 0.07 mg/m³.
Sulfur belongs to a category of large-volume products of basic chemistry - in
the period of 1997-2005, manufacturing of the product in six out of twelve CIS
countries varied within the range from 4.2 to 8.2 million tons per year; at
that, the largest production was observed in the last year of the said period.
Existing methods of production of sulfur comprise its extraction from virgin
ore by open (open-pit) or mining-technological method, obtaining sulfur from
hydrogen sulfide of industrial and natural gases, as well from sulfur dioxide
evolving at metallurgical processing of concentrates of sulfide minerals.
The total potential of industrial enterprises producing sulfur on the
territory of CIS is 11.42 million tons per year; in 2005, only 73.2% were
used, and, at that, 6.30 million tons of the product were manufactured in
Russia, which was 75.3% of the total production in CIS.
In the pattern of foreign trade operations with sulfur in RF, export
operations dominate, the annual volume of which ten-fold exceeds the import of
the product. In 2005, domestic companies exported abroad 3.92 million tons of
sulfur, which was 10.6% less than the corresponding index of the previous
year, while the amount of the product imported in the country reached 162.5
kt, 1.2 fold exceeding the analogous index of 2004.
In 2005, three Russian manufacturers exported sulfur abroad, so did some
trading companies, the share of which being only 0.5% of the total exports
volume in the country.
In the middle of 2006, average wholesale price for a ton of sulfur increased
by 2.4% in Russia, as compared with corresponding index of the previous year,
and grew up to 384 (not adjusted for VAT). The average export price for sulfur
in 2005 was on the level of $19.4 per ton, the import price was $21.2 per ton.
In 2005, “apparent” consumption of sulfur in Russia rose by 45.5%
as compared with the analogous index of the previous year, thus reaching a
level of 2.54 million tons. At that, the index of actual usage of the product
in the country is evaluated as 2.00 million tons: the difference observed can
be explained by formation of the unrealized rest over 0.5 million tons. Most
of the product was used in chemical and petrochemical industries, which
consumed 1.80 million tons of the product in 2005, i. e. 90.1% of the total
Russian consumption. Production of chemical fertilizers (1.18 million tons) is
the main direction of usage of sulfur in this sector of Russian economy, as
well as production of sulfuric acid (0.49 million tons).
Analysis of dynamics of production of sulfur in Russia over the recent years,
as well as projects for development of key enterprises of the sub-industry,
allow forecasting increasing production volume in RF in the nearest years,
which, in 2006, will be 6.40 million tons, in 2008 - 6.60 million tons, and in
2010 will reach 6.92 million tons. Dynamics of production of sulfur in Russia,
along with Kazakhstan, the other leading manufacturer, will form a tendency of
manufacturing the product over all CIS countries. According to forecast of
“InfoMine”, production of sulfur in CIS will be 10.00 million tons
in 2008, and in 2010, will exceed this value by 10.7%, reaching 11.07 million
tons.
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