In the current squeeze, one sees why real industrial power resides not in glamorous end products, but in the ugly upstream molecules that make them possible
It's a very tangled web, a web of consumer ignorance.
Not many may know this, but TiO2 is a key raw for most plastic. It is used as a pigment. There are FDA food compliant grades too, so while this is used to brighten and tint goods like plastic and paint, it is also used in pharma and food applications.
How do you think they make the bathroom tissue white?
It is unfortunate for most that they have not worked in factories. If you saw all the material it takes to run one old Fuji pick and place machine, we all might be less uber consumptive.
Like tantalum capacitors. They are everwhere in electronics.
As Bette Davis said, “Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.”
Thanks Dave Yes I’m going through them all and putting together details on each industrial process . I thought I understood it when I began but it’s been an education how widespread is across many industrial processes
Yes there is plenty more that dovetails off from each stream. You could do the same for any number of primary inputs and follow them down to consumer level to see how deeply connected these fields are to everyday life and the size of the wave of disruption is going to be.
“Not because it is glamorous, nor because it explains everything, but because, where chemistry is completely unforgiving, supply is exposed to the market, and substitutes are fiction, it stops being just another input and becomes power and consequence in its own right.”
Craig—This Article & This Summation Paragraph are Masterpeieces.
China was the world’s largest exporter of sulfuric acid in 2025, exporting roughly 4.6 million tons of sulfuric acid and related products. Chile, meanwhile, was the world’s largest importer, bringing in around 4 million tons. This matters because Chile is now facing a “critical sulfuric acid supply shortage” after Chinese sulfuric acid exports to Chile suddenly dried up.
Chinese customs data show that China exported no sulfuric acid to Chile in March 2026, compared with 31,870 tons in February 2026 and 151,268 tons in March 2025. Chile relies on China for roughly 37% of its sulfuric acid imports, and its copper leaching operations are heavily dependent on sulfuric acid. In other words, this is not just a chemical-market fluctuation. It is a direct input constraint on part of the copper supply chain.
The essence of the shortage is not that the world has suddenly run out of sulfuric acid production capacity. It is a sudden mismatch among logistics, policy restrictions, upstream sulfur supply, smelter by-product acid, and rigid downstream demand. This is not an evenly distributed global shortage. It is a regional and pathway-specific shortage.
China’s domestic market may even become more comfortable as exports are restricted and more acid remains at home. But countries and regions that depend on imported sulfuric acid, imported sulfur, or acid-leaching production routes face much greater pressure. Chile, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kazakhstan are therefore far more exposed than countries with more integrated or domestically controlled sulfuric acid supply chains.
It's a very tangled web, a web of consumer ignorance.
Not many may know this, but TiO2 is a key raw for most plastic. It is used as a pigment. There are FDA food compliant grades too, so while this is used to brighten and tint goods like plastic and paint, it is also used in pharma and food applications.
How do you think they make the bathroom tissue white?
It is unfortunate for most that they have not worked in factories. If you saw all the material it takes to run one old Fuji pick and place machine, we all might be less uber consumptive.
Like tantalum capacitors. They are everwhere in electronics.
As Bette Davis said, “Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.”
I would add Alum to this list as well, widely used flocculant in water treatment… requires quite a bit of sulphuric acid.
Thanks Dave Yes I’m going through them all and putting together details on each industrial process . I thought I understood it when I began but it’s been an education how widespread is across many industrial processes
Yes there is plenty more that dovetails off from each stream. You could do the same for any number of primary inputs and follow them down to consumer level to see how deeply connected these fields are to everyday life and the size of the wave of disruption is going to be.
One of the most educational pieces relating to the ME-desaster I read so far. Thanks a bunch, Craig.
Phew. I had no clue. Thank you for this insightful article. Nothing is what gets primacy of attention…straits of hormuz is everywhere
Bet on electrons lost by molecules
“Not because it is glamorous, nor because it explains everything, but because, where chemistry is completely unforgiving, supply is exposed to the market, and substitutes are fiction, it stops being just another input and becomes power and consequence in its own right.”
Craig—This Article & This Summation Paragraph are Masterpeieces.
Thank You!!
China was the world’s largest exporter of sulfuric acid in 2025, exporting roughly 4.6 million tons of sulfuric acid and related products. Chile, meanwhile, was the world’s largest importer, bringing in around 4 million tons. This matters because Chile is now facing a “critical sulfuric acid supply shortage” after Chinese sulfuric acid exports to Chile suddenly dried up.
Chinese customs data show that China exported no sulfuric acid to Chile in March 2026, compared with 31,870 tons in February 2026 and 151,268 tons in March 2025. Chile relies on China for roughly 37% of its sulfuric acid imports, and its copper leaching operations are heavily dependent on sulfuric acid. In other words, this is not just a chemical-market fluctuation. It is a direct input constraint on part of the copper supply chain.
The essence of the shortage is not that the world has suddenly run out of sulfuric acid production capacity. It is a sudden mismatch among logistics, policy restrictions, upstream sulfur supply, smelter by-product acid, and rigid downstream demand. This is not an evenly distributed global shortage. It is a regional and pathway-specific shortage.
China’s domestic market may even become more comfortable as exports are restricted and more acid remains at home. But countries and regions that depend on imported sulfuric acid, imported sulfur, or acid-leaching production routes face much greater pressure. Chile, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kazakhstan are therefore far more exposed than countries with more integrated or domestically controlled sulfuric acid supply chains.
Excellent article. I rate 5 stars with two happy faces and a dancing ballerina spinning wearing a red dress emojis. That’s a very high rate.
Excellent analysis. Thanks. Here is an even more in-depth piece on many many essential atoms from Charlie Garcia. I sent him yours. You think alike. https://substack.com/@charliepgarcia/note/p-194995767?r=6k5tw1&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Also, isn't sulfur added to LNG, so we can smell it if there is a gas leak? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Trump, Putin and Netanyahu have controlled the world's attention for far too long.
They are too old. No skin in the game.