Sulfuric Acid – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog is the nineteenth in a series of blogs I plan to write providing use, price, and production data on high-use inorganic and organic chemicals.  Click here to see the first blog in this series and a list of chemicals to be featured.  This blog provides data on sulfuric acid.  The primary purpose of these blogs is to present estimates of recent price, production, and sales revenues for the chemicals.  The last blog in this series will compare price, production, and sales data for all the chemicals. 

Uses.  Uses of sulfuric acid include:

Ø  In making phosphate fertilizers (50 to 60% of use);

Ø  In various processes in several industries such as: paper; petroleum; metal processing; and paints; and

Ø  For producing various products such as: detergents; resins; pharmaceuticals; and insecticides.

Prices.  2019 global sulfuric acid prices are believed to be in the range of $35 to $40 per metric ton (mt).

Most sulfur used to produce sulfuric acid is produced as a byproduct, suggesting that the sulfur raw material cost in making sulfuric acid is exceptionally low, reducing the market price of sulfuric acid.        

Production.  Sulfuric acid is produced from sulfur by reacting sulfur with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide, which is added to water to produced sulfuric acid.

From the internet, estimated 2019 global production of sulfuric acid is in the 270 to 275 million mt range.  Using 270 and 275 million mt produced and the prices of $35 and $40 per mt (see Prices above) gives global revenues generated by sulfuric acid in 2019 in the $9.5 to $11 billion range (270 million mt times $35 per mt; 275 million mt times $40 per mt).