Sulphuric acid: Feedstocks
How a ten-fold sulphur swing decides who wins
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Acid is made from sulphur, from smelter SO2 or from pyrite. Sulphur burners pay the world sulphur price, which can swing ten-fold, while smelter acid carries no feedstock cost but cannot respond to demand. This decides who is competitive: when sulphur is dear, smelter acid from Japan, Korea, Peru and Europe sets the price; when sulphur is cheap, burners at the user's site win because acid costs more to ship than sulphur.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Sulfur | 0.33 t per t H2SO4 | SO2 source for burner plants | about 70-80% of cash cost at 2025-26 sulphur prices (indicative) | Stoichiometry; USGS MCS 2026 |
| Cu Copper | about 1 t acid per t concentrate (indicative) | by-product SO2 | near zero; cost borne by smelting | Indicative |
| Zn Zinc | about 0.9-1 t acid per t concentrate (indicative) | by-product SO2 | near zero | Indicative |
| Pyrite | about 0.7-0.8 t per t acid (indicative) | SO2 source in China | not published | Indicative |
| V Vanadium | small; catalyst lasts years | SO2 oxidation | under 1% (indicative) | USGS MCS 2026 notes caesium-promoted catalysts in high-purity acid |
Who is low-cost, and why
Smelter acid is the lowest-cost supply and is sold at whatever price clears the market. Among burners, those with captive or contract sulphur (Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the US Gulf) are cheapest; importers buying spot sulphur in Asia, Brazil and Indonesia sit at the top of the curve.
Raw materials on the commodity table
S SulfurCu CopperZn ZincWhat it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| H3PO4 Phosphoric acid | largest single use |
| DAP DAP and MAP | through phosphoric acid |
| AS Ammonium sulphate | acid plus ammonia, or caprolactam by-product |
| TiO2 Titanium dioxide | sulphate route uses about 3.5-4 t acid per t TiO2 |
| HF Hydrofluoric acid | about 2.6 t acid per t HF |
| CPL Caprolactam | oleum in the Beckmann rearrangement |
| CAM Battery cathode materials | LFP via phosphoric acid; nickel and cobalt sulphates |
| LAB Linear alkylbenzene | sulphonation to LAS detergents |
| VSF Viscose fibre | spinning bath acid |