Sulfur

Description

Sulphur Formula

• ✔ Sulfur (in British English, Sulphur) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16.
• ✔ It is abundant, multivalent, and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatonic molecules with a chemical formula S8.
• ✔ Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow, crystalline solid at room temperature.

Where is sulfur found?

Sulfur is the tenth most common element by mass in the universe and the fifth most common on Earth. Though sometimes found in pure, native form, sulfur on Earth usually occurs as sulfide and sulfate minerals. Being abundant in its native form, sulfur was known in ancient times, being mentioned for its uses in ancient India, ancient Greece, China, and Egypt, as well as in the Bible (where it was called brimstone).

Sulfur Uses

Today, almost all elemental sulfur is produced as a byproduct of removing sulfur-containing contaminants from natural gas and petroleum.

• ✔ The greatest commercial use of the element is the production of sulfuric acid for sulfate and phosphate fertilizers and other chemical processes.
• ✔ The element sulfur is used in matches, insecticides, and fungicides.
• ✔ Many sulfur compounds are odoriferous, and the smells of odorized natural gas, skunk scent, grapefruit, and garlic are due to organosulfur compounds.
• ✔ Hydrogen sulfide gives the characteristic odor to rotting eggs and other biological processes.

Additional information