SULFUR MOUNTAIN

Canadian oil company Syncrude built this stack of sulfur slabs as they extracted a viscous form of petroleum called bitumen from the oil sands deposits in Alberta. Sulfur is a major impurity in bitumen that must be removed before it’s used in asphalt or cracked into lighter hydrocarbons. The refining process produces elemental sulfur in quantities so great that supply vastly outstrips global demand. Companies such as Syncrude have taken to piling the sulfur into structures known colloquially as the Great Sulfur Pyramids of Alberta. The structure shown, one of three, has a footprint of roughly 25 acres and is around 100 feet tall, as estimated through satellite photos.

Credit: KAIROS

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