Element 16 · Non-Metal
Sulphur
Sulphur — the yellow element, central to fertilisers, vulcanised rubber, and chemical industry.
Element Facts
SYMBOL
S
ATOMIC NO.
16
ATOMIC WEIGHT
32.06
CATEGORY
Non-Metal
PERIOD
Period 3
GROUP
Group 16
Background
Sulphur has been known since antiquity as “brimstone” and is mentioned in the Bible. Antoine Lavoisier confirmed it as an element in 1777. For centuries it was used in gunpowder (with charcoal and potassium nitrate), religious fumigation, and as a fungicide. The vulcanisation of rubber (Charles Goodyear, 1839) created a major new industrial application. From the early 20th century, sulphur became fundamental to fertiliser production via sulphuric acid.
Industrial Uses
Approximately 85% of sulphur is converted to sulphuric acid — the world’s most produced industrial chemical — primarily for manufacturing phosphate and ammonium sulphate fertilisers. Other uses include vulcanised rubber, fungicides (in agriculture), and pharmaceutical synthesis. Most sulphur today is recovered as a mandatory byproduct of oil and natural gas refining and desulphurisation.
Scrap Viability
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Sulphur:
Sulphur is a yellow non-metallic solid — not a metal and not present in scrap metal streams as a value material. In steelmaking, sulphur is actually an undesirable impurity that must be removed. Sulphur is a byproduct chemical sold by refineries, not a scrap material.
What It's Worth
Elemental sulphur (Frasch process or recovered from gas processing) trades at approximately £65–150/tonne FOB. Prices are closely tied to oil refining output. Not a scrap commodity.