Global Demand for Sulfuric Acid Is Expected To Climb Dramatically Due to More Intensive Agriculture

According to new research, worldwide demand for sulfuric acid is expected to climb dramatically by 2040, from "246 to 400 million tons" as a result of more intensive agriculture and the world's shift away from fossil fuels.

According to a new study, a projected scarcity of sulfuric acid, a critical ingredient in our modern industrial civilization, might hinder green technology growth and imperil global food security.

Sulfur shortage

(Photo : Dan Meyers/Unsplash)

According to a recent study led by UCL academics, a projected scarcity of sulfuric acid, a critical ingredient in our modern industrial civilization, might hinder green technology growth and imperil global food security, as per ScienceDaily.

According to the study, which was published in the Royal Geographical Society's (with the Institute of British Geographers) journal The Geographical Journal, global demand for sulfuric acid is expected to rise significantly by 2040, from '246 to 400 million tonnes as a result of more intensive agriculture and the world's shift away from fossil fuels.

The researchers predict that depending on how soon decarbonization happens, this would result in a shortage in yearly supply of between 100 and 320 million tonnes - between 40% and 130% of present supply.

Sulfuric acid, an essential component of contemporary manufacturing, is necessary for the creation of phosphorus fertilizers, which help feed the globe, as well as the extraction of rare metals from ores, such as cobalt and nickel, which are used in high-performance Li-ion batteries.

Over 80% of the world's sulfur supply is now in the form of sulfur waste from the desulfurization of crude oil and natural gas, which minimizes sulfur dioxide gas emissions, which produce acid rain.

However, decarbonizing the global economy to combat climate change would dramatically diminish the output of fossil fuels - and hence the availability of sulfur.

This study, coordinated by University College London (UCL) experts, is the first to detect this severe concern.

According to the authors, unless steps are done to limit the need for this chemical, a large rise in ecologically destructive mining will be necessary to meet the resultant resource demand.

"Sulfur shortages have happened previously, but what makes this distinct is that the supply of the element is transitioning away from being a waste product of the fossil fuel sector," stated study main author Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography).

We believe that when supplies of this cheap, plentiful, and easily accessible form of sulfur dwindle, demand will be filled by a tremendous rise in direct mining of elemental sulfur.

The researchers calculated three sulfuric acid demand scenarios from 2021 to 2040, based on historical and anticipated demand, with annual growth rates ranging from 1.8% to 2.4%.

The authors also investigate several ways that sulfur demand could be reduced as part of the transition to post-fossil fuel economies, such as recycling phosphorus in wastewater for the fertiliser industry, increasing lithium battery recycling, or using lower energy capacity/weight ratio batteries, which require less sulfur for production.

Furthermore, they raise critical questions about whether it makes economic sense to invest in alternative production methods, given that it is currently impossible to predict how quickly the supply of sulfur as a waste product from oil and gas desulfurization will decrease as the global economy decarbonizes.

They conclude, however, that by recognizing the sulfur threat now, national and international measures to regulate future demand, enhance resource recycling, and find alternative affordable supply may be produced.

Intensive agriculture

One of the most troubling environmental disadvantages to industrial agriculture is its contributions to climate change, as per Sentient Media.

Globally, agriculture is one of the largest drivers of anthropogenic climate change, accounting for around twelve percent of total emissions, and nearly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.

Industrial crop production hampers the ability of soil to act as a carbon sequester, ultimately turning it into a carbon emitter.

Animal agriculture (most of which is raised intensively) accounts for large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, including 37% of all methane emissions and 65% of nitrous oxide.

Aside from environmental considerations, intensive agriculture generates massive volumes of pollutants.

Some of the largest dairy farms in the United States can have over 15,000 cows, producing more excrement than can be utilized as fertilizer on neighboring fields, resulting in most of it accumulating in open waste lagoons.

Given that a farm with only 200 cows may create as much nitrogen as a city of up to 10,000 people, they represent major pollution threats to ground and surface water.

Algal bloom caused by runoff from such farms may harm freshwater, brackish, and saltwater environments.