Molten Sulphur trains

[Junctionfan]

Hello all,

I was wonder if anybody could tell me where some of thease CSX and other roadname molten sulphur trains are going?

Thankyou

[Anonymous]

On my paperwork they are usually headed to Lake City, Florida. I'm not sure what molten sulfur is used for, but that's obviously where it's processed.

[Overmod]

Almost certainly to be used in making sulfuric acid, for phosphoric acid production.

[athelney]

What makes this sulphur molten ? - What is mixed with it ? --- Up here in Canada the sulphur trains I'm used too are basically like coal trains - gon type cars loaded with yellow powder . This is unloaded into big piles at the docks and exported in bulk carriers.

[athelney]

QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill

Richard: Sulfur shipped from North American originations overseas is typically shipped as a solid, as you've noted. However, if it is to be shipped to a North American destination, it is generally shipped molten in insulated tankcars. It's melted with heat, such as with steam. It's pure, or I should say, as pure as it needs to be for a technical grade.

Mark - Thanks for the information -- learn't something else today - it was worth getting up - cheers.

[Junctionfan]

Thankyou mark.

I have seen molten sulphur trains of AFPX (Honeywell-Allied Signal)

What does this company do with it? I have never heard of Honeywell getting into the chemicals as much as I have heard of them in electronic goods.

[edblysard]

And,
It's added to the mix for making automobile tires, helps in the vulcanizing process....Goodyear's DeerPark plant gets tanks of the stuff all the time...

Ed

[Overmod]

athelney, you might want to read up on the Frasch process for winning sulfur, which in part explains why the sulfur is in a hot and molten condition when it reaches the cars.

In my opinion, aside from the 'extra' capacity gained by transporting the sulfur instead of the produced sulfuric acid (all that oxygen is HEAVY!), molten sulfur is comparatively chemically inert compared to H2SO4, let alone oleum... it's safer to move the bulk material.

[railman]

All in all, this appears to be a very "sticky" corporate trail!

[Anonymous]

Right in Brewer Yard there is an Allied plant, now Honeywell. We switch in their plant about every other night. A lot of Anhydrous Ammonia and Refridgerant gases is what we mostly handle.

[Junctionfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill

Conglomerates aren't quite dead yet. Honeywell and AlliedSignal merged a few years ago. The AlliedSignal portion of the conglomerate comes from Signal Gasoline Co. (1922) which became Signal Oil & Gas, and merged with Garrett Industries (small turbine engines) in 1968. The Allied portion comes from Allied Chemical -- and that's where the interest in sulfur and sulfuric acid comes from.

Thankyou. I wasn't to sure if the Allied Chemical industries were involved or not. That explains why "Honeywell" owns Anydrous Hydrogen Fluoride tankers too (ACTX)

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

Hello all,

I was wonder if anybody could tell me where some of thease CSX and other roadname molten sulphur trains are going?

Thankyou

We get them through Louisville regularly. There's a Goodrich plant in
an area just a couple of miles west of us. Oddly?enough the area is known
as "Rubbertown".[:)]
Comes in generally via CSX & NS,although P & L serves some of that area.

I should also add,that we have a tank washing facility in the same vicinity,
(old K & IT) source of a few fire runs in the past several years.

[Overmod]

That's nifty -- thanks, Mark.

[kevarc]

Sulphur is a major building block for many of the compounds used today. Almost every chemical and pharmaceutical plant use it.

Many get it in liquid form and dump it into a form and let it solidify and then break off what they need. Mostly it depends on the purity required for the process on how it is handled at the plants. I see truck and loaded cars all the time down here on the Chemical Coast.

Suphuric Acid is also a major commidity down here. If is a by-product in many processes.

[Allen Jenkins]

That's correct. The shipping name for molten sulfur, is "Crude Molten Sulfur in Bulk Form." (USA spelling).
The process is used to load the tankers, however it may be expected to harden, and by the time it reaches Bone Vally, Florida, it is solid in the tank. It takes three days to melt the sulfur, at which time it pours like water. It's usually about 265 degrees F., and would penetrate a filter water would not go through.
To protect against the vapors emminating from the top bung hatch of the tank, you MUST begin the flow out of the tank. Many phosphate workers, have been found dead, because they did not practice this. To much flow out of the tank before venting, may cause collapse of the tank, because of the heavy weight of the product.
The curious thing about molten sulfur, is that it cools-hard instantly(ten seconds). Small splashes on the skin, are less pain than a yellow-jacket sting, and heal quickly.
You may realize, these non-placarded tanks, whether rail, or truck, are well built, and insulated, and you hardly ever hear of an accidental spill, although those who handle the product, know when it happens.
Enjoy Your Chemicals!
ACJ.

[miniwyo]

I am pretty sure that UP hauls it around here. We have a large Fretilizer manufacturer here in town called Simplot Phosphates, there are constantly trains with tank cars headed up there and they stick out like a sore thumb as they have the sulphur yellow on the outside, there are also a bunch of trucking companies who run the sulpher to them, the only problem is, that the road is bad and it runs right through a neghborhood (sp?) and there have been many spills here .

[miniwyo]

Thanks M.W.! I knew that the slurry came from Vrenal, and that they mixed the phosphate and the sulphur that has been manipulated into sulphuric acid to make the fertilizer. I did not know that the sulphur came from Kemmer(don't go there very much) and I did not know all the scientific stuff that went into making ther product.

Oh and the Simplot Plant here also used to be SF Phosphates(SF used to stand for Simplot Farmland), Recently Simplot bought out Farmland and both the plant and the mine near Vernal becasme Simplot Phosphates.

[Junctionfan]

They use phosphoric acid in food (check back of Coke can) as well as uses it to refine sugar. Sugur industries like Redpath, Latancia, Domino et al, depend on it to refine.

I have noticed that there is two major phosphoric acid producers by the two reporting marks I have seen the most.-WAGX and RPBX.

[bobwilcox]

The plant at Rock Springs was built by Chevron. They were looking for way to get rid of their sulphur from the sour oil in the Overthrust so they threw $100 million at a $10 million problem.

[miniwyo]

Bob you are exactly right, I couldn't tell ya how long it has been out of Chevron hands tough.