Chlorine - Mercury to Membrane Technology Conversion

INEOS Technologies has the complete range of membrane electrolysers suitable for converting chlor-alkali mercury cellrooms to membrane technology. The BICHLOR™ and FM1500™  electrolysers are ideal for this conversion. They are designed for all sizes of production capacity.

Challenges

The conversion of an existing cellroom to membrane technology is a major undertaking, and attention to the scope of the project is vital.

Here are some of the areas in which INEOS Technologies can help in the design process:

• Improved brine purification for membrane electrolysers 
• Cellroom pipework modifications 
• Rectifier and busbar layout 
• Demercurisation requirements 
• Differential pressure modelling 

Technology

Based on over 30 years supplying membrane electrolysers to the chemical industry, our BICHLOR™ and the FM1500™ represent the state of the art bipolar and monopolar membrane electrolyser technologies.

Application

Mercury cells require a high level of ongoing operational and maintenance expenditure. The cost of changing to membrane electrolysers can be justified by a combination of factors:

• Environment and safety
  BICHLOR™ and FM1500™ membrane electrolysers eliminate the use of mercury 
• Lower operating costs
  membrane electrolyser technology uses less power to produce each tonne of chlorine 
• Product quality Membrane technology eliminates the need to remove mercury from caustic soda and hydrogen 

Conversion

These electrolysers have been used in a number of mercury cell conversion projects. The reasons why INEOS Technologies' membrane technology is the right choice are: -

• Size – the overall size required for membrane electrolysers is significantly less than the area taken up with mercury cells. For a given floor area BICHLOR™ and FM1500™ will have a production capability significantly greater than mercury cells  
• Electrical requirement – INEOS Technologies is able to offer advice on the best options on the re-use of existing equipment, particularly rectifiers  
• Low power consumption – both the BICHLOR™ and FM1500™ operate with low voltages and power usage  
• Long lifespan – Based on over 30 years experience the design of the components is proven and the electrolysers will run efficiently for many years. 
• Ease of maintenance – the modular construction of BICHLOR™ results in easy removal and replacement of modules thereby reducing maintenance downtime   
• Technical support – INEOS Technologies' engineers are experienced in all aspects of mercury cellroom and membrane electrolyser operations. We can help plan a conversion project and specify the equipment necessary to enable a safe and efficient project