Covestro makes major investments in Tarragona

Building on news from December last year, Euro Chlor member company Covestro has finalised its investment plan for a new chlorine production plant in Tarragona (Spain) that will use oxygen-depolarized cathode (ODC) technology. Covestro is investing around EUR 200 million at Tarragona to increase the site’s competitiveness. The new industrial-scale plant will be the first of its kind to be based solely on this state-of-the-art technology.

“Sustainability and energy efficiency played a vital role in choosing the process,” notes Chief Technology Officer Dr. Klaus Schäfer. “This is a special success story for us since the development of this technology began at our company over two decades ago.”

ODC technology is based on the membrane process, in which chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen are produced from salt and water. The difference here however is that the hydrogen-generating electrode is replaced by an oxygen-depolarized cathode meaning only chlorine and caustic soda are produced.

Construction of the new plant in Tarragona is likely to begin in the first half of 2019 and the produced chlorine will be used to produce MDI, a precursor for rigid foam, used as an insulating material in buildings and refrigerators to reduce their power consumption.

More news on this investment can be found on the Covestro website.