CHLORINE

General Information:
Chlorine (and Chlorine derivatives like Hypochlorite) are IMPORTANT, and have many uses in everyday life:-

• Purification of our drinking water
• Food production pesticides/insecticides
• Antiseptics/disinfectants in medicine
• PVC : Insulation of high voltage electrical cable
         : The car industry etc.
• Dyestuffs in the clothing industry
• Paper manufacture
• Explosives
• Polyurethane/PTFE intermediates

 

• It is cheap to buy for the end consumer
• There are no alternatives for some uses
• Relatively easy to manufacture
• It is a well researched and documented chemical

 

Key Facts About Chlorine

• Approximately 2 million jobs in Europe are related to Chlorine
• 85% of medicines are made using chlorine chemistry
• 96% of crop protection used by farmers is based on chlorine chemistry
• 55% of European chemical production depends on chlor-alkali products
• 98% of Western Europe's drinking water is made safe with the help of chlorine

 

There are more than 500 chlor-alkali producers, at over 650 sites around the globe, with a total annual capacity of over 55 million tonnes of chlorine.

The chlorine industry plays a key role in enabling future innovations, thus contributing to world economic growth:

• Ultra-pure silicon, the basic material of the photovoltaic cell, used to trap solar energy
• Super-strength polyaramide fibres, used to reinforce fibre-optic cables for high-speed internet communications
• Silicon-chips, essential to microprocessors in computers, and a myriad of electronic devices
• Titanium metal and aluminium, for aircraft fuselages, jet engines and spacecraft
• Epoxy-resins used in satellites, cars and aeroplanes