Tag: Sulphuric Acid

Although 2019 had been a volatile year for acid markets, with shutdowns disrupting supply, the coronavirus outbreak wrought even more havoc in 2020, across both supply and demand.

Production cuts globally at refineries have left supply tight heading into the fourth quarter, firming prices. This has been compounded by major exporters in the Middle East prioritising sulphur tonnes to contracts before spot sales.

Several highly corrosion resistant materials are available today for use in handling process fluids encountered in the production of concentrated sulphuric acid. These alloys, properly selected for the operating conditions, provide the benefits of long operating life under harsh operating conditions extending the period of uninterrupted production cycles and lowering the incidence of catastrophic equipment failure. In this article, M. J. Cooke of Weir Minerals discusses materials of construction for pumps, valves and piping used in the production of sulphuric acid.

Matt Langworthy, Analsyt for Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.

In early October Tesla held a ‘battery day’ event at its headquarters in Fremont, California. Speaking at the event, company founder and CEO Elon Musk outlined his vision for the electric car industry over the coming decades, and spoke particularly to his ambitions for the nickel industry. He had already called for more mining of nickel earlier in the year, and has said that Tesla is developing cathodes that will contain higher nickel and no cobalt. The latter comes after a lawsuit against Tesla and several other high-tech US firms for allegedly supporting human rights violations by buying cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Musk echoed the potential ‘reputational risk’ for the nickel market and called for more sustainable nickel production, dangling the prospect of a “giant contract” with any miners that could produce nickel in an “environmentally sensitive way.” Tesla is reportedly in discussions with Vale and BHP as well as the Indonesian government concerning potential investments in nickel production.

Brazil’s phosphate industry is on a growth dash to meet rising domestic demand. We report on the major acquisitions, investments and expansions by CMOC, Mosaic, Yara and Itafos.

The risk of a second Covid-19 wave over the winter period continues to fuel the trend of forward trading of sulphur cargoes. Downward pressure in some sectors for demand is likely as the macro economic forecast remains challenging.

Meena Chauhan, Head of Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.

Reg Adams of pigments and titanium dioxide consultancy Artikol reviews the demand for sulphuric acid in the manufacture of TiO2 , and the prospects for consumption over the next few years.

DuPont Clean Technologies has announced the successful startup and performance test of a 300,000 t/a STRATCO® alkylation unit licensed at the Hengli Petrochemical Company’s new refinery complex on Changxing Island in the Harbour Industrial Zone, China. The new alkylation unit enables Hengli to produce high-quality alkylate from a 100% isobutylene feed stream, catalysed by sulphuric acid. This first-of-a-kind unit was developed through DuPont research into the best ways to maximise product octane and minimise end point with this feedstock. Hengli had awarded DuPont the contract for the new alkylation unit as well as a MECS® sulphuric acid regeneration unit in 2015.