The effect of quenching temperature on structural and mechanical properties of sulfur prills

Abstract For agricultural use sulfur prills should have low hardness in order to be broken into fine particles. Mechanical properties of sulfur prills can be affected by quenching temperatures. In this study, sulfur prills were produced by quenching liquid sulfur in water at temperature of 20–50 °C and their mechanical and structural properties were then studied. Abrasion resistance, breaking strength and also microstructure, crystallinity and crystalline phase of the prills were analyzed using techniques, such as SEM and XRD. The results showed that higher quenching temperatures produced sulfur prills with higher porosity and lower mechanical strength, increased the crystal size and had no effect on the crystalline phases. The optimum quenching temperature for producing sulfur prills for agricultural use was at about 30 °C.