Purpose and Scope of the Book

The chlor-alkali industry is one of the largest electrochemical operations in the world, the main products being chlorine and sodium hydroxide generated simultaneously by the electrolysis of sodium chloride solutions. The chlor-alkali industry serves the commodity chemical business, chlorine and sodium hydroxide (also called caustic soda) being indispensable intermediates in the chemical industry [1-10]. 

The purpose of this handbook is to elucidate the basic chemistry and chemical engineering principles involved in the chlor-alkali technologies, and to thoroughly discuss the various operations involved in manufacturing chlorine and caustic. The status of the chlor-alkali industry is also discussed along with issues relevant to the future growth of the industry and the environmental concerns. 

This handbook will attempt to consolidate the concepts presented at the various meetings and symposia and address the relevant chemistry and engineering concepts, so that it is useful not only to the personnel involved with the chlor-alkali industry, but also to the junior and senior chemical engineering and chemistry students who wish to join the industry or pursue academic careers. With this thought in the background, the first three chapters introduce the reader to the chlor-alkali industry. The fundamental principles associated with the chemistry and electrochemistry of the chlor-alkali processes and the components involved in the electrolytic cells are discussed in Chapter 4. 

Volume IE is devoted to facility design and product handling. Chapter 8 addresses cell room design and Chapter 9 provides a thorough discussion of handling the products of electrolysis. 

Volume IV covers support systems and commissioning. Chapter 10 discusses some chemical engineering principles required for design of a chlorine plant, and examples are provided explaining how these fundamental concepts are translated into practice. Instra-mentation and control systems required for the various unit operations are addressed in Chapter 11 and the utilities needed for mnning the plant are presented in Chapter 12. Details pertinent to plant commissioning and operation are treated in Chapter 13. 

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