Sulfur cycle

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Sulfur is one of the constituents of many proteins, vitamins and hormones. It recycles as in other biogeochemical cycles.

The essential steps of the sulfur cycle are:

Mineralization of organic sulfur to the inorganic form, hydrogen sulfide: (H2S).

Oxidation of sulfide and elemental sulfur (S) and related compounds to sulfate (SO42).

Reduction of sulfate to sulfide.

Microbial immobilization of the sulfur compounds and subsequent incorporation into the organic form of sulfur.

These are often termed as follows:

Assimilative sulfate reduction (see also sulfur assimilation) in which sulfate (SO42) is reduced to organic sulfhydryl (otherwise known as thiol) groups (RSH) by plants, fungi and variousprokaryotes. The oxidation states of sulfur are +6 in sulfate and 2 in RSH.

Desulfuration in which organic molecules containing sulfur can be desulfurated, producing hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S), oxidation state = 2. Note the similarity to deamination.

Oxidation of hydrogen sulfide produces elemental sulfur (So), oxidation state = 0. This reaction is done by the photosynthetic green and purple sulfur bacteria and some chemolithotrophs.

Further oxidation of elemental sulfur by sulfur oxidizers produces sulfate.

Dissimilative sulfur reduction in which elemental sulfur can be reduced to hydrogen sulfide.

Dissimilative sulfate reduction in which sulfate reducers generate hydrogen sulfide from sulfate.

Human impact on the sulfur cycle is primarily in the production of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from industry (e.g. burning coal) and the internal combustion engine. Sulfur dioxide can precipitate onto surfaces where it can be oxidized to sulfate in the soil (it is also toxic to some plants), reduced to sulfide in the atmosphere, or oxidized to sulfate in the atmosphere as sulfuric acid, a principal component of acid rain.

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Context 2: The sulphur cycle

Key words: sulphur cycle, oxidation / reduction, sulphur and climate Sulphur cycle

We find many sulphur compounds on Earth. These include sulphur dioxide, elemental sulphur, sulphuric acid, salts of sulphate or organic sulphur compounds such as dimethylsulphide and even amino acids in our body. All these chemical compounds do not last forever. They are transported by physical processes like wind or erosion by water, by geological events like volcano eruptions or by biological activity. They are also transformed by chemical reactions. But nothing is lost. Changes often take place in cycles. Such cycles can be chemical cycles in which a sulphur compound A reacts to form B, B to C, C to D and D to A again. At the same time there are spatial / geographical cycles. One example is when sulphur compounds move from the ocean to the atmosphere, are transported to the land, come down with the rain and are transported by rivers to the ocean again.

1. The flow of sulphur compounds in our environment. Scheme: Elmar Uherek, adapted and modified from an water cycle illustration of the Center for Space Research, Univ. of Austin, Texas Please click the picture for a larger view! (150 K) For a high resolution version (1.5 MB) please click

HERE.

Oxidation and reduction

In chemical cycles, sulphur is usually oxidised in the air from organic sulphur or elemental sulphur to sulphur oxides like SO2 and SO3 ending up as sulphate in sulphate salts M(II)SO4, M(I)2SO4 or sulphuric acid H2SO4. The sulphate compounds dissolve very well in water and come down again with the rain, either as salts or as acid rain. In chemical cycles oxidised compounds must also be reduced again. This process does not take place in the atmosphere but on the ground and in the oceans and is carried out in complicated chemical reactions by bacteria. The most important products are elemental sulphur, hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which smells awful and is very unhealthy, and organic sulphur compounds.

Sulphur and climate Sulphur compounds play a big role for our environment and the climate system. On the one hand they contribute to acid rain as described in this magazine. But they are also important for the formation of clouds as explained in the edition of January 2006. Finally, a lot of sulphur is brought into the air by volcanic eruptions. If it was a strong eruption, the emitted particles can go up to the stratosphere (9 - 12 km of altitude) and cool down half our planet by 1-2C. In the following scheme you can see factors which contribute to the sulphur cycle and how they are related to the climate system.

2. The salts of the oceans also consist of sulphates. Some of the sulphates are brought as sea spray to the low layers of the atmosphere but do not have a strong influence on the climate. Photo: Rob Hartill with permission

3. Sulphur compounds play a role in our climate system in various ways. The scheme gives an overview. Click on it for a larger view. (90 K) Scheme: Elmar Uherek

Sulfur cycle
Part IV of "Matter cycles": The sulfur cycle
Sulphur is one of the components that make up proteins and vitamins. Proteins consist of amino acids that contain sulphur atoms. Sulphur is important for the functioning of proteins and enzymes in plants, and in animals that depend upon plants for sulphur. Plants absorb sulphur when it is dissolved in water. Animals consume these plants, so that they take up enough sulphur to maintain their health. Most of the earth's sulphur is tied up in rocks and salts or buried deep in the ocean in oceanic sediments. Sulphur can also be found in the atmosphere. It enters the atmosphere through both natural and human sources. Natural recourses can be for instance volcanic eruptions, bacterial processes, evaporation from water, or decaying organisms. When sulphur enters the atmosphere through human activity, this is mainly a consequence of industrial processes where sulphur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gases are emitted on a wide scale. When sulphur dioxide enters the atmosphere it will react with oxygen to produce sulphur trioxide gas (SO3), or with other chemicals in the atmosphere, to produce sulphur salts. Sulphur dioxide may also react with water to produce sulphuric acid (H2SO4). Sulphuric acid may also be produced from demethylsulphide, which is emitted to the atmosphere by plankton species. All these particles will settle back onto earth, or react with rain and fall back onto earth as acid deposition. The particles will than be absorbed

by plants again and are released back into the atmosphere, so that the sulphur cycle will start over again.

A schematic representation of the sulphur cycle:

Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/sulphur-cycle.htm#ixzz0lBd9HGJ9

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Sulphur Cycle
The sulphur cycle is a complex series of processes in which all of the sulphur atoms present in the earth circulate. Sulphur is one of the more than 100 known elements, and one of six main constituents of living organisms. The earth does not receive matter from outside except from occasional meteorites (and this is negligible). Thus, the sulphur atoms (as also other elements) are part of a closed system, that is they cannot be lost or replenished. These fixed number of sulphur atoms are recycled throughout all of earths processes that use chemicals containing sulphur. These processes form a cycle that involves the living sphere called thebiosphere, and the nonliving spheres lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere.

The sulphur cycle is thus one of the biogeochemical cycles; there are also other biogeochemical cycles like thecarbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle.

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1 The Cycle 2 Did You Know? 3 Reservoirs 4 Significance 5 Human Activity 6 References:

7 See Also

The Cycle

The sulphur cycle can be thought of as beginning with sulphur dioxide gas (SO2) or the particles of sulfate compounds in the air. These compounds reach earths surface as they fall down or are rained out of the atmosphere. From the soil, plants take up various forms of these compounds and incorporate them into their tissues. Then these organic sulphur compounds are returned to the land or water after the plants die or are consumed by animals. Bacteria can transform the organic sulphur to hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). In the oceans, certain phytoplanktons produce a chemical that subsequently transforms to SO2. These gases can re-enter the atmosphere, water, and soil, and continue the cycle.

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Did You Know?

An important distinction between cycling of Sulphur and Nitrogen and Carbon Cycles is that sulfur is "already fixed". That is, plenty of

sulfate anions (SO42-) are available for living organisms to utilize. By contrast, the major biological reservoirs of nitrogen atoms (N2) and carbon atoms (CO2) are gases that must be pulled out of the atmosphere.

The largest physical reservoir is the Earth's crust wherein sulfur is found in gypsum (CaSO4) and pyrite (FeS2). Some of the reactions that occur in the sulfur cycle open up new environments to life. They support biological communities in unlikely

places such as deep sea thermal vents, areas of low pH and areas of high temperature.

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Reservoirs

The main reservoirs of sulphur are:

Earths crust is the largest reservoir of sulphur. Here sulphur is found in gypsum (CaSO4) and pyrite (FeS2). The ocean is another large reservoir of sulphur. Here biologically useful sulphur is found as sulfate anions, dissolved hydrogen sulfide

gas and elemental sulphur. Freshwater contains sulfate, hydrogen sulfide and elemental sulphur.

Land contains sulfate. Atmosphere contains sulphur oxide (SO2) and methane sulfonic acid (CH3SO3).

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Significance

The sulphur cycle is significant both to climate and life. Sulphur is one of the components of proteins and vitaminsin animals. Proteins consist of amino acids which in turn contain sulphur atoms. Sulphur is also important for the functioning of proteins and enzymes in plants. Plants absorb sulphur which is dissolved in water. Animals consume these plants, and take up enough sulphur as required by them. In its fully oxidized state, that is as sulfate, sulphur is the major cause of acidity in both natural and polluted rainwater. This makes sulphur important to geochemical, atmospheric, and biological processes such as the natural weathering of rocks, acid precipitation, and rates of denitrification. The lifetime of most sulphur compounds in the air is relatively short, may be, a few days. Superimposed on these fast cycles of sulphur are the extremely slow sedimentary-cycle processes or erosion, sedimentation, and uplift of rocks containing sulphur. In addition, sulphur compounds from volcanoes are intermittently injected into the atmosphere, and a continual stream of these compounds is produced from industrial activities.

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Human Activity

Sulphur is also one of the main biogeochemical cycles that is significantly influenced by human activity. According to some estimates, emissions of sulphur to the atmosphere from human activity are at least equal or probably larger in magnitude than those from natural processes. Burning of fossil fuels and metal processing are the main culprits. Sulphuric acid particles contribute to the polluting smog that engulfs some industrial centers and cities where many sulphur containing fuels are burned. Sulphur dioxide is also involved in the phenomenon ofacid rain. Such particles floating in air (known as sulfate aerosols) can cause respiratory diseases or cool the climate by reflecting some extra sunlight to space.

The levels of sulphur dioxide can be reduced by controlling pollution in coal-based power plants and in industrial processing units. Use of fuels like natural gas which have lower sulphur content also helps.

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References:

Sulfur Cycle THE SULFUR CYCLE Biogeochemical Cycles

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See Also

Oxygen Cycle Carbon Cycle