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The European chlorine industry10/2008 What is it all about?The chlorine industry, often called "Chlor-Alkali Industry", mainly produces two key products: chlorine and caustic soda. These chemicals are essential building blocks for many other chemical and other industrial activities. This chapter lets you enter into the fascinating world of the European chlorine industry. First, let us have a look at the two key products. Then, discover much more by clicking the items listed at the bottom of this page. ChlorineChlorine is as essential to the chemical industry, as salt is to life. Of all the halogens, chlorine is by far the most abundant in nature and is the easiest to produce. More than 85% of all pharmaceuticals and more than half the products of the chemical industry depend on chlorine chemistry. These products are used in most industrial and economic sectors including:
To get an idea of the important role chlorine chemistry plays in our everyday lives, take a look at the chlorine tree. In 2007, European chlorine producers manufactured 10.7 million tonnes of virgin chlorine. The capacity for the region is currently more than 12 million tonnes. More than a third is recycled - mainly as hydrochloric acid - and re-used within the production plants. Fifty-five percent of Europe's overall chemical production is directly or indirectly dependent on chlorine. Caustic sodaWith every tonne of chlorine that is produced, 1.1 tonnes of caustic soda are also made. This co-product also has a wide range of applications. More than half of the caustic soda manufactured is used in the chemical industry. The rest goes into products such as soap and textiles, or is used in water treatment, aluminium production and oil refining. Caustic soda can be easily transported throughout the world and is easy to store. Chlorine, however, is difficult to transport, so it is mainly used at the site where it is produced in a variety of downstream units such as those for VCM (Vinyl chloride monomer, the building block for PVC), and the plastic PVC (Polyvinlychloride). The market for chlorine has reached maturity in Europe. It is, therefore, in countries with higher economic growth that an increase in demand is expected. This is mainly due to the production of PVC, for which the global demand is in constant growth (+ 5%/year). HydrogenA third product resulting from the electrolysis is hydrogengas. In fact, per tonne of chlorine gas produced, 0,028 tonne of hydrogen is generated. It can be recycled and reused in-company, or transported in special containers to e.g. the food industry: hydrogen is used to react with food oils to produce edible fat and grease. In-depth informationRead much more about the European chlor-alkali sector in the following items: |