The Alberta Sulphur Industry
Authors: Terry Janet W. 
Published: March 2010

Alberta is now the world's leading exporter of elemental sulphur, or ‘brimstone’. From a standing start in the early fifties this commodity now occupies an important place in Alberta's economy. Several organizations have emerged from this growth: Cansulex Limited in 1962 to handle offshore marketing for its member companies; Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd. (ASR) in 1964 to conduct research on separation and sulphur production problems; the Sulphur Development Institute of Canada (SUDIC) in 1973 to develop and expand uses for sulphur and to provide technical assistance on industry problems; and Sultran Ltd. in 1976 to manage the transportation of Alberta sulphur to the western ports.

A Perspective on the World Sulphur

Industry

While sulphur has been recognized and used since man's early beginnings, the modern sulphur industry has its roots in the Industrial Revolution. New processes and industries were spawned which required large amounts of sulphuric acid, sulphur's main byproduct. This demand was met from native sulphur deposits, the most important of which were in Sicily, and pyrites from Scandanavia and Spain. Just before the turn of the twentieth century, the Frasch process was developed to exploit the vast native sulphur deposits (associated with salt domes) of the U.S. Gulf Coast. By the 1920s, the U.S. Frasch industry dominated the world sulphur market. Large-scale exploitation of sour gas fields in Canada and France in the 50's resulted in involuntary sulphur production and created a strong new factor in world supply. In 1970, byproduct sulphur production surpassed sulphur from voluntary operations for the first time and this trend is continuing. The U.S. Frasch industry, which produced 60% of Western World supply in 1950, now only accounts for 15%.

In addition to sulphur recovered from sour gas and oil, and from native deposits using the Frasch process; the other primary sources of sulphur today are mined native deposits, roasting of pyrites (iron sulphides) and recapture of SO2 fumes from non-ferrous metals smelting. World production of sulphurin- all-forms in 1981 was about 54 million t and of elemental sulphur, about 35 million t. The world's major producers are listed in Table l.

On the consumption side, about 80% of all sulphur is used in the form of sulphuric acid which is most often used only as a processing chemical. About one-half of world consumption is used in the manufacture of phosphatic fertilizers; the remainder is used in a wide variety of industries, the most significant of which are non-ferrous metal production, petroleum refining, iron and steel production, paints, chemicals, and pulp and paper. Geographically, the largest regions of sulphur usage in 1981 were North Amerlca (primarily the U.S.A.), 28%; East Europe (primarily the U.S.S.R.), 25%; West Europe, 19% and Asia at 15% (FERTECON data).

About 15 million t of elemental sulphur are traded annually in the international market. Canada is the major supplier to this market, selling about 5 million tpa. Together with Poland, these two countries account for about two-thirds of world trade, with the remainder supplied in smaller quantities by a number of countries.