What do clean drinking water and electric car batteries have in common…?

…they both use chlor-alkali chemistry to keep you going!

Want to ensure your water is always clean and safe?

Chlor-alkali chemicals are used to make over 90% of Europe’s water safer to drink. According to the World Health Organisation, over 3 million people die globally from drinking unsafe drinking water. Chlor-alklai chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite can, when used carefully, disinfect water to make it free of bacteria and other micro-organisms that can make people ill. Disinfection of water using chlorine has even been called one of the greatest public health advances of the last century!

With a proven use for over a century, chlor-alkali chemicals also have the benefit of being more affordable than alternatives, longer-lasting (i.e. they remain in water even after it leaves the treatment plant) and scalable from large plants to individual taps. People can also trust chlorinated water as they can easily detect its presence in water. For those that dont like the taste though, such disinfectants will disappear by placing the water in the fridge for short periods of time (but only for upto 24 hours!).

Learn more about the role of chlorine for safe water here >

Or perhaps see how chlorine chemistry is used around the world here >

Or for more on how else chlorine keeps us healthy here >

And related to this:

Learn how chlor-alkali is used to make soap here >

 

…and keep your electric car going?

Chlor-alkali chemicals also help to make efficient electric car batteries. There is a drive (please forgive the joke!) to move away from diesel and petrol cars towards other forms of ‘fuels’. One alternative here is the use of hybrid or fully electric cars. The batteries that are found in these vehicles are made using various minerals (such as lithium, cobalt and nickel) as well as chlor-alkali chemicals such as potassium hydroxide which is used to carry the charge around the battery.

Find out where else chlor-alkali chemisty is used in transportation here >

Or meet Erwin, a mechanic who uses chlor-alkali chemistry to keep us all on the move >

Or check out our video on how chlor-alkali gets us safely home every day >

And related to this:

Did you know that chlor-alkali chemistry is also found in aeroplanes?  >

Chlor-alkali chemistry helps keep us safe in other ways too, find out more here >

 

Chlor-alkali is vital for many products in our daily life.