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Via email from Foreign Policy:
For a #commodity #essential to everything from pharmaceuticals to agriculture and mining, #sulfur rarely makes headlines. But the #Iran #war is wreaking havoc on global trade of sulfur, a #byproduct from the #oil and gas sectors. Converted into #sulfuric acid—known as the “king of chemicals”—it powers operations across the #fertilizer, #metals, and #pharmaceutical sectors. Which means that any disruptions to the sulfur market reverberate far beyond it.
#Urea and #ammonia are critical components of
#nitrogen fertilizers and #sulfuric acid is an essential input for producing phosphate fertilizers. chart @JPMorganAM
#Sulfuric acid is how we extract copper. It's how we extract cobalt. Without it, you can't make transformers, EV batteries, or the substrates inside every data center on the planet. One chemical, made from one feedstock, shipped through one #chokepoint. The cascade goes further: Qatar ships 30% of Taiwan's liquefied natural gas through Hormuz. Taiwan has 11 days of reserves left. TSMC, the company that makes 90% of the world's advanced chips, draws 8.9% of Taiwan's total electricity. {more}
Carpeted in sulfuric cloud, the hillside view of Ōwakudani presents an eerie landscape marred by charcoal-black skeletal trees contrasted with vibrant soil.

#nature #naturephotography #geothermal #sulfur #sulfuric #trees #shrubs #soil #cloud #clouds #hill #hillside #fog #haze #owakudani #hakone #japan

Ōwakudani, Hakone, Japan
Facilities and sulfur vents at Ōwakudani, "the great boiling valley" in Hakone, Japan.

#nature #naturephotography #geothermal #sulfur #sulfuric #yellow #research #researchfacility #egg #tamago #owakudani #hakone #japan

Ōwakudani, Hakone, Japan
Press releases

Press releases

Today’s #Venus floats in a nest of #sulfuric #acid #clouds, has no water, and features surface temperatures of up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt lead.
#SpaceScience #Astronomy #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2023/03/ss03222301.html
Hunting Venus 2.0: Scientists sharpen their sights

Study narrows James Webb Space Telescope targets

A projected shortage of #sulfuric acid, a crucial #chemical in our modern industrial society, could stifle green #technology advancement and threaten global food security
#EarthScience #Environmental #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2022/08/en08222203.html
Sulfur shortage: a potential resource crisis looming as the world decarbonizes

The researchers estimate that this will result in a shortfall in annual supply of between 100 and 320 million tons