# Sulfur: Relationships Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/links/ Every element and industry that Sulfur is linked to, and how. Each pair has its own card explaining the relationships between the two. - [Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-sulfur/): Most of the world's sulphur is not mined but removed from sour natural gas and crude oil, so its supply is set by gas processing and refining, not by sulphur prices. Gulf sour gas makes the Middle East a leading exporter, with nearly half of seaborne sulphur trade passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which ties sulphur, and the phosphate fertiliser and nickel leaching that use it, to Gulf gas output and shipping. *(researched)* - [DAP and MAP](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/dap-and-map-and-sulfur/): Phosphate fertiliser plants burn sulphur to make the sulphuric acid that dissolves phosphate rock, using about 0.4 tonnes of sulphur per tonne of DAP. Sulphur supply is set by oil and gas processing rather than by fertiliser demand, so sulphur price spikes, such as the rise from under USD 100 to over USD 1,000 a tonne between 2024 and 2026, pass straight into DAP costs. *(researched)* - [Rubber chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rubber-chemicals-and-sulfur/): Sulphur and rubber chemicals are the two halves of the cure that turns raw rubber into a tyre: sulphur forms the cross-links and accelerators, themselves partly made with sulphur, control how fast and how well they form. Rubber is a small outlet for sulphur next to fertiliser, so rubber chemical makers take sulphur prices set by the phosphate market. *(researched)* - [Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulfur-and-sulphuric-acid/): Most sulphur ends up as sulphuric acid: it is burned to sulphur dioxide and converted to acid, mainly for phosphate fertiliser and metal leaching. Sulphur is a by-product of cleaning oil and gas, so its supply does not respond to acid demand, and when a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz cut Gulf shipments in 2026, the delivered acid price in northern Chile doubled in about seven weeks. *(researched)* - [Copper](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-sulfur/): Copper smelters make sulphuric acid as a by-product and copper leaching consumes it, so copper is both a rival to sulphur burning and one of its customers; in 2026 an acid shortage became a cost shock for leach mines. *(researched)* - [High-temperature batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/high-temperature-batteries-and-sulfur/): High-temperature batteries needs sulfur; their prices have moved together. - [Ammonium sulphate](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonium-sulphate-and-sulfur/): Sulfur is a raw material for ammonium sulphate. - [Caprolactam](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/caprolactam-and-sulfur/): Sulfur is a raw material for caprolactam. - [Grapes & wine](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/grapes-and-wine-and-sulfur/): Their prices have moved together. - [Hydrofluoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrofluoric-acid-and-sulfur/): Sulfur is a raw material for hydrofluoric acid. - [Next-generation lithium batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/next-generation-lithium-batteries-and-sulfur/): Their prices have moved together. - [Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nickel-and-sulfur/): Their prices have moved together. - [Phosphoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/phosphoric-acid-and-sulfur/): Sulfur is a raw material for phosphoric acid. - [Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/plastic-and-rubber-products-and-sulfur/): Plastic and rubber products depends on sulfur. - [Refining and reforming](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/refining-and-reforming-and-sulfur/): Their prices have moved together. - [Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/semiconductors-and-sulfur/): Semiconductors depends on sulfur. - [Textiles and leather](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulfur-and-textiles-and-leather/): Textiles and leather depends on sulfur. - [Titanium dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulfur-and-titanium-dioxide/): Sulfur is a raw material for titanium dioxide. - [Ultra-pure wet chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulfur-and-ultra-pure-wet-chemicals/): Sulfur is a raw material for ultra-pure wet chemicals. - [Viscose fibre](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulfur-and-viscose-fibre/): Sulfur is a raw material for viscose fibre. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/correlation/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/stocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/emissions/index.md)