Solid Sulfur Market Expected to Reach $4.9 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Solid Sulfur Market," The solid sulfur market was valued at $3.4 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $4.9 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2022 to 2031.

Solid sulfur is an abundant, multivalent, non-metallic chemical element. It is bright yellow, odorless, and crystalline room temperature. It has a wide range of applications in various end use industry including, chemical, agrichemicals, metal extractions, rubber, and among others. An increase in the usage of the solid sulfur in various end use industry makes it one of the key factors responsible for the growth of solid sulfur during the forecast period.  In addition to this, growing population across the globe, well established chemical and manufacturing industry has enhanced the performance of solid sulfur in the chemical industry which may further propel the growth of market.

Sulfur based compounds such as sulfur dioxide SO2 pollutes environment owing to which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set standard regulation on consumption of sulfur containing compounds. For instance, (International Maritime Organization) IMO 2020 regulates use of sulfur in ships' fuel oil to a maximum 0.50%. This is expected to hamper the overall production rate of solid sulfur. These factors are hampering the overall growth of solid sulfur market during the forecast period.

Rise in population, increase in disposable income, and growth in consumer demand for electric vehicles, has surged the demand for solid sulfur where it is used in manufacturing of car batteries. In addition to this, low electric conductivity coupled with excellent insulating property of solid sulfur, makes it useful in the electrical and electronics industry. These factors together are projected to create remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the solid sulfur market in the future.

The solid sulfur market is segmented on the basis of application, end use, and region.  By application, the market is segregated into sulfuric acid synthesis, sulphonates surfactant synthesis, agrochemicals, metal extraction, oil refining, and others. Agrochemicals segment is expected to hold dominant position during the forecast period and accounted total share of 44%. This is attributed to the fact that, an increase in the utilization of various sulfur containing fertilizer has boosted the market growth.

In addition, factors such as an increase in the population in developed and developing economies, rising demand for food across the globe, and government support and investment in the production of agrichemicals have driven market growth. For instance, according to a report published by India Brand Equity Foundation in January 2021, the government plans to introduce a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of agrochemicals. These initiatives will promote sulfur-based agrochemical production and will expected to enhance overall demand for market.  According to an article published by National Library of Medicine in October 2017, Moreover, than 30% of today's agrochemicals contain at least one sulfur atom, mainly in fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. Sulfur containing fertilizer is used to control and prevention of rusts, leaf spots, black spot, and powdery mildew on roses, other ornamentals, fruits and vegetables. 

By end use industry, the market is fragmented into chemical, agriculture, rubber, pulp & paper, and others. Agriculture end user segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period with total market share of 43%. Agriculture industry is significantly recognized as one of the booming sectors owing to the factors such as potential increase in farm income, import and export activity, and improvement in standard of living has surged the demand for sulfur.

Solid sulfur act as a soil conditioner, helps in reducing sodium content and enhances the plant productivity and also helps in maintaining the efficiency and productivity of agriculture sector.  This may act as one of the key drivers to increase the demand for sulfur in the agriculture sector.

Region-wise, the Solid sulfur market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific region is one of the dominating region in the solid sulfur market and accounted for 40% of total market share. Factors such as an exponential increase in the world's population that leads to rise in demand for food and increasing its contribution to the world food trade have led to the growth of the overall agriculture sector. For instance, according to a report published by India-China Trade Brief in 2019, India’s total export of agricultural and allied commodities to China was of the order of $1,999 million, approximately 117% higher than the previous year. The solid sulfur is used as fertilizer and helps in promoting plant growth by supplying sulfur nutrient. This is anticipated to increase the potential sales of solid sulfur as a fertilizer in the agriculture sector.

The global solid sulfur market profiles leading players that include Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Alfa Aesar, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bharat Petroleum Co. Ltd, ChemPoint, Enersul Limited Partnership, Georgia Gulf Sulfur Corporation, H.J. Baker, Kuwait petroleum corporation, Merck KGaA, Motiva Enterprises LLC, Repsol, Shell Plc, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd., TCI America, and Valero Energy Corporation.

Key findings of the study:

• By application, sulfuric acid synthesis is anticipated to grow at fastest CGAR of 4.1% from 2022 to 2031.
• By end-use industry, the chemical segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 4.0% from 2022 to 2031.
• By region, Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share of 45% in 2021, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 4.0%.