Sulfur vulcanization sulfur is not miscible in the polymer prior to vulcanization and attention is paid to prevent sulfur bloom, where it migrates to the surface of the article. Accelerators act much like catalysts allowing vulcanisation to be performed cooler yet faster and with a more efficient use of sulfur. They achieve this by reacting with and breaking the sulfur ring to form a reactive intermediate, referred to as a sulfurating agent. This in turn reacts with cure sites in the rubber to bring about vulcanization. There are two major classes of vulcanization accelerators: primary accelerators and secondary accelerators (also known as
Frasch process this method, the United States produced 3.89 million tons of sulfur in 1989, and Mexico produced 1.02 million tons of sulfur in 1991. The Frasch process can be used for deposits 50–800 meters deep. 3-38 cubic meters of superheated water are required to produce every tonne of sulfur, and the associated energy cost is significant. A working demonstration model of the Frasch process suitable for the classroom has been described. Frasch process The Frasch process is a method to extract sulphur from underground deposits. It is the only industrial method of recovering sulphur from elemental deposits. Most of the world's