Sicilian sulfur operation

The inffastmcture system in Sicily was disastrous. The basic problem was the separation between ownership, operations and marketing. There was no system but a bunch of independent factions, each taking care of their own selfish interests. The end result was that there was no incentive for anyone to make investments into the business. Thus, the industry remained primitive and backward. Worsening the situation, the economy of Sicily became more and more dependent on the sorrowful mines, both for emplo5mient and income. On the rare occasions when attempts to modernize the industry and improve efficiency (i.e., job losses) were proposed, they were met with violent demonstrations and strong resistance from local residents and political leaders. This Sicilian sulfur pit trapped the industry, and the island economy, in a state of mediocrity. When serious competition later evolved and their monopoly was broken, only government intervention kept the obsolete industry afloat. 

Sicily could no longer afford to export any sulfur. The high production costs restricted Sicilian sulfur to mainly domestic usage. Between 1956 to 1962, the number of operating mines declined to 50, and total employment had been cut in half. 

In 1879, MMPC wanted Frasch to look at the manufacture of alkali. The petroleum industry, including Standard Oil, were major consumers, but there was no domestic supply (the Leblanc process never operated in North American and the first Solvay plant was not built until 1884 in Syracuse, NY). Frasch focused on improving the basic Solvay route to produce alkali. He may have first learned about the process at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, where Solvay displayed their state-of-the-art technology (a Sicilian sulfur display was... 

There were two major operations within the sulfur industry the mine itself, and the sulfur purification plant. The Sicilian deposits contained 12% to 50% sulfur, with the main contaminants being limestone and g sum. Pure sulfur had to be extracted before sending the product to market. The simplest approach was to melt the sulfur. Fuel, though, was a luxury. Since sulfur burnt, it was used to melt itself The earliest sulfur was recovered by placing the crude sulfur in conical mounds in an open-pit and covering it with earth. The bottom of the sulfur was set on fire, melting what remained on the pile. 

The Sicilian industry was composed of numerous independent, inefficient operations, whose commercial success often depended upon marketing consortiums to control the international price of their product. Any real profits from the sulfur industry of Sicily were reaped by foreign bourgeoisie, especially British, who controlled the exports from the island. 

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