Brimstone Wasn't Fire—It Was Something Worse

A quiet supply crisis is reshaping global industry, and most of it is unfolding inside a chemical almost nobody thinks about. Sulfuric acid sits underneath fertilizer, food, copper, EV batteries, semiconductors, and nuclear fuel, and the world has been getting it essentially for free, as a waste stream from oil refineries and metal smelters. That accidental supply chain is now visibly breaking. Geopolitical disruption in the Persian Gulf, cascading export bans across China, Russia, Turkey, and Z