Italian sulfur industry

Vincenzo Masini, in 1759, wrote the most unusual review of the Italian sulfur industry. The uniqueness did not originate from its contents but its style it was a poem, called Lo Zolfo (Sulfur). The woik was dedicated to the legate of Romagna. 

With the start of World War II, control of the Italian sulfur industry switched from UVZI to Ente Zolfi Italiani (Italian Sulfur Board). Soon a joint German-Italian enterprise was formed called Societa per Incremento Produzione Zolfi, whose purpose was to improve the effieieney of the Italian sulfur industry. They were no more sueeessful than earlier attempts. The number of mines in Sicily dropped to 74. In 1939 and 1940, Sieilian sulfur production was over 200,000 tormes. By 1942, it was half this amount. Production virtually ceased the following year, when the allies invaded. 

Fear remained within the industry. How powerful were the Americans Could the previous tales be trae In early 1907, this time the Italian government sent a representative, L. Baldaeei, to the U.S. to evaluate the Frasch competition. He only eonfirmed what Dompe had previously reported. The government report officially stated that Fraseh was a serious threat and that the two groups should form an allianee. The report went on to state that U.S. sulfur could be delivered at less than 12 per toime in Europe, while Sicilian production costs were 20 per tonne. The news was devastating to the sulfur industry of Sicily. 

The War protected Europe from Frasch sulfur and global demand surged. Even so, this was a diffrcult year for the industry. Labor trouble and restrictions on fuel supply depressed production. In 1918, the term of COISS was renewed. After the war, the Sicilian industry was back on hard times. Trans-Atlantic vessel rates dropped, allowing the U.S. Frasch producers to be even more competitive in Europe. The two major markets, Britain and France, had switched mainly to American product. In 1921, the Italian government intervened to save the Mtering business, a feature that the Sicilian sulfur industry would henceforth be dependent upon to survive. 

In 1960, the European Economic Community (EEC) had approved tariffs to protect the terminally-ill industry and, the following year, established a special committee to see what else could be done. On April 24, 1969, the EEC approved of the Italian government s aid to the unprofitable sulfur industry. ... 

Almost the entire history of the sulfur industry has been marked by cartel agreements among the world s leading produc-ers-particularly among the two chief sources of supply, the American and the Italian companies. 

The Italian chemical journal, Rassegna Chemica 50), contains articles on technical and industrial developments and on chemical markets in Italy. Monthly statistics on Italian chemical production (quoted from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce) include the following synthetic ammonia, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, sodium carbonate, caustic soda, alumina, trichlorethylene, calcium carbide, carbon disulfide, explosives, superphosphates, ammonium sulfate, calcium cyanamide, calcium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, copper sulfate, dyestuffs, ethyl alcohol, methanol, tanning extracts, tartaric acid, citric acid, wood pulp and cellulose, and sodium nitrate. 

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