Production European Chlorine Industry Chlorine - The Element Chlorine was first isolated in 1774 by the Swedish chemist, C W Scheele. It is a pale green gas at normal temperature and pressure, but because it is highly reactive it is not found as a gas in nature. Instead, it appears as naturally - occurring organochlorine compounds and salts. Chlorine is used worldwide to purify water supplies as the ultimate defence against waterborne microbiological infection. Modern day cholera epidemics in Peru, China, India or Africa exemplify the devastating consequences of poor sanitation.
Chlorine also plays a critical role in the production of thousands of commercial products.
Products reliant on chlorine's unique properties include everyday household items such as household bleach and swimming pool disinfectants to bullet-resistant vests, computer hardware, silicon chips and automotive parts. Thanks to the introduction of sophisticated waste management techniques, mercury emissions from chlorine plants in Western Europe have been reduced to less than 9.0 tonnes in 1999. The diaphragm process which uses a porous mineral fibre as the separator, resulting in less than pure caustic soda which is used for specific applications. The membrane process which was developed in the 1970s, is being adopted throughout Europe for new plants. European Chlorine Industry Western European chlorine producers manufacture more than 9 million tonnes of virgin chlorine each year.