AkzoNobel And Evonik Joint Venture Plant Starts Production

AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals and Evonik Industries successfully start production at their new joint venture to produce chlorine and potassium hydroxide at the company's Ibbenbüren site in Germany. The facility uses membrane electrolysis technology to produce up to 120,000 metric tons of potassium hydroxide and 75,000 metric tons of chlorine per year, as well as hydrogen. AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals will receive chlorine and hydrogen, while Evonik will market the potassium hydroxide from the facility and convert part of the output at its Lülsdorf site into other products, including potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate and potassium formate. The site's new production process will improve the ecological footprint of every ton of chlorine produced in Ibbenbüren by 25% to 30%, according to AkzoNobel.

Chlorine is an essential ingredient for the manufacture of a wide variety of products including paper, disinfectants, medicines and plastics used in the construction, automotive and electronics industries. Hydrogen has many applications and is used, for example, as an energy carrier for the upgrading of fossil fuels and in the production of ammonia.

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