(BAT) Reference Document for the Production of Chlor-alkali ...

Chapter 4
Technical description
The main utilisations of the co-produced hydrogen are [ 16, Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente
2010 ], [ 30, Euro Chlor 2010 ]:
combustion to produce steam (and some electricity);
chemical reactions such as:
- production of ammonia;
- production of hydrogen peroxide;
- production of hydrochloric acid;
- production of methanol;
- reduction of organic compounds;
- hydrodesulphurisation of petroleum;
- hydrogenation of oils and greases;
- chain termination in polyolefin production;
production of electricity (and heat) in fuel cells (emerging technique, see Section 6.3).
Achieved environmental benefits
The achieved environmental benefits of these techniques include:
reduction of energy consumption;
reduction of raw material consumption (if hydrogen would have to be produced by
other techniques).
Environmental performance and operational data
Current levels of emitted hydrogen as a share of the total hydrogen produced are presented in
Section 3.4.5. On average, approximately 10 % of the hydrogen produced by chlor-alkali
installations in EU-27 and EFTA countries is emitted to the atmosphere. This corresponds to a
use of 90 % of the co-produced hydrogen as reagent or fuel [ 8, Euro Chlor 2011 ].
Cross-media effects
Some raw materials and energy are consumed if additional equipment is required to increase the
share of used hydrogen.
Technical considerations relevant to applicability
An increase in the quantity of used hydrogen may require the installation of new equipment or
the extension of existing equipment.
Economics
{Please TWG provide information.}
Driving force for implementation
The driving forces for implementation of these techniques include the following:
reduction of costs related to energy consumption;
reduction of costs related to equipment.
WORKING DRAFT IN PROGRESS
Example plants
All chlor-alkali plants in EU-27 and EFTA countries use hydrogen in various degrees as
chemical reagent or fuel.
Reference literature
[ 8, Euro Chlor 2011 ], [ 16, Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente 2010 ], [ 30, Euro Chlor 2010 ]
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