Uses

Chlorine and alkali (potassium and sodium hydroxide) chemistry are essential building blocks for the manufacture of numerous products that we rely on every day across Europe. Everyone knows that chlorine enables safe drinking water and healthy swimming pools, but without it many industrial and manufacturing value chains could not exist. In addition, hydrogen is a by-product of chlor-alkali production and our industry can play a leading role in this aspect.

Chlorine, potassium and sodium hydroxide and hydrogen are all necessary for the manufacture of countless vital applications that we rely on, including plastics (especially PVC and polyurethane), solvents, medical products and fire protection. Find out more about the main areas of use below and selected benefits on our benefits page, which also features our overarching documentary, our Chorine Things and Mr C videos and our 17 Successes programme.

A scientific overview of each product and end use can be found on the chlorine, caustic soda, caustic potash and hydrogen trees.

Chlor-alkali will also help develop the innovative materials that we will need in the future, with examples given on our Innovation section.