Sulphur

This is a crystal of sulphur
Photo Credit: Periodictable.com

Atomic Number: 16
Relative Atomic Mass: 32.06
Group: 16
Period: 3
Block: P

Symbol: S

Sulphur (Sulfur, if you are American) is a non-metal. It comes in many alltopes (different forms); 𝛼-S, 𝜷-S, S₂, S₃ and cyclo-S₈. The most common appearance of Sulphur is yellow crystals or power.
Sulphur is also referred to as brimstone. It can oxidise and is responsible for the characteristic smell of a volcano.

Naturally, Sulphur occurs as an element within volcanic areas - so the smell makes sense. This was the traditional major source for human use. But Sulphur is also found in many other minerals such as Iron pyrites, Galena, gypsum and Epsom salt.

This shiny stone is Galena. It is the natural compound Lead Sulphide.

It is an important source of Lead as well as a source of Silver

Photo Credit: Crystal Life

This is the soft mineral - gypsum. 

Photo Credit: University of Minnesota 

Experimental sulphur was once removed from wells by a process called - The Frasch Process. This process involves forcing heated steam into the underground deposits to melt suphur. Then the liquid is pumped to the surface.
Now, sulphur production is almost entirely from various purification processes used in order to remove sulphur from natural gas, oil and tar sands.

All living things contain sulphur. Vegetables such as onions and garlic get their aroma. So when the living organism is fossilised, that sulphur remains. Unpurified fossils fuels when burnt can realise sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere and cause acid rain.

Discovery of Sulphur

No one knows who actually found sulphur. Therefore, the date of the discovery is prehistoric.

Apparently, Sulphur is mentioned 15 times in the bible. This element is also known to the ancient Greeks and it was burnt as a fumigant. A fumigant is a chemical which produces fumes used to either disinfect the area or purify the area.
Mount Etna, in Sicily (Photo below), was were sulphur was mined. It was used to bleached cloth and persevering vine. But this needed Sulphur to be converted to Sulphur Dioxide. The compound can be absorbed into the wet cloth and the grape juice easy.
For centuries, Sulphur, as well as the elements Mercury and salt (Sodium), was thought to be all metals. They formed the basis of alchemy where one metal can change form (Transmute) into another metal.

Mount Etan - Sicily
Photo Credit: Italia

Scientists worked together to understand this element. The French chemist, Antotine Lavoisier believed that Sulphur was an element. Although, the English chemist Sir Humphrey Davis (mentioned first in Sodium) thought than sulphur contained the element Hydrogen in the year 1808. His sample of Sulphur was impure (probably Hydrogen Sulphide - H₂S). But, two other scientists - Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard, proved Sulphur to be an element. After which Sir Humphrey Davis had to agree with the conclusion.

Biological Uses

Sulphur is essential to all living things. It is taken up from soil or the sea as the form Sulphate by plants and algae. The element is essential for two amino-acids - Cysteine and Methionine. It is also needed for co-enzymes in humans.

The average human has 140g of Sulphur and takes in 1g daily. Sulphur is therefore non-toxic as well as sulphates. Though, Carbon disulphide, Hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide are toxic. Hydrogen sulphide is particularly toxic - it can cause respiratory paralysis.

Sulphur is realised when we burn unpurified fossil fuels then taken into the atmosphere causing acid rain. The rain can then cause lakes to die by making toxic aluminium salts soluble so they are eaten by other living things.


It's Uses

• Used in the process - Vulcanisation. Hardening up rubber
• Most of the sulphur resources are used in the production of Sulphur acid - H₂SO₄, which has so many uses. But the more common one is to make fertiliser
• Sulphites are used to bleach paper as well as being the preservatives for many food items.
• Gypsum is mined to make cerment and plaster

A Sulphur cartoon drawn by Edward Randviir
Photo Credit: ErrantScience.com

The photo on the left is a cartoon drawn, I guess by Edward Randvirr. His blog post about sulphur is one of the better blog posts that I've read. If you want to read more about sulphur and facts about element 16, then click the link at the bottom of the picture.