Iran war puts the world’s most used chemical in short supply

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.War in the Persian Gulf and new Chinese export restrictions have sent sulfuric-acid prices soaring and raised concerns about the availability of a chemical that the world relies on for food, metal, paper, computer chips and clean water.Sulfuric acid is the most consumed chemical on the planet, produced by smelting and refining nonferrous metals, such as copper and nickel, or by burning sulfur, a byproduct of oil-and-gas processing.The acid can burn a hole in a steel shelf at the hardware store, where it is sold by the bottle as extra-strength drain opener. But it is more prevalently used higher up the supply chain by heavy industry to make a ubiquitous array of products and materials.Sulfuric acid is used to produce phosphate fertilizers, leach copper and other metals from rock, pulp wood, pickle steel, tan leather and vulcanize rubber.

Municipal water treatment depends on sulfuric acid, as do battery and semiconductor makers. The citric acid that adds tang to sugary drinks and the silica that gives toothpaste its grit are made with it, too.Because sulfuric acid is highly corrosive, it is difficult and expensive to move around, said Kunal Sinha, who previously managed the sulfuric-acid business at mining firm Glencore and is now co-founder and chief executive of metals-processing startup Valor.

Users don’t usually keep much sulfuric acid on hand because it requires careful handling and special tanks for storage, Sinha said.“There’s only weeks, maybe if you’re lucky a month, planned for in their pipeline and storage,” he said. “Supply-chain disruption, whether it’s a rail strike or the Strait of Hormuz being closed, is a problem.”A large chunk of the world’s sulfur comes from Persian