Where is chlorine made

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This figure expresses the average number of days that receivables are outstanding. Generally, the greater the number of days outstanding, the greater the probability of delinquencies in accounts receivable. However, companies within the same industry may have different terms offered to customers, which must be considered. This is an efficiency ratio, which indicates the average liquidity of the inventory or whether a business has over or under stocked inventory.

This ratio is also known as "inventory turnover" and is often calculated using "cost of sales" rather than "total revenue. Dividing the inventory turnover ratio into days yields the average length of time units are in inventory. Because it reflects the ability to finance current operations, working capital is a measure of the margin of protection for current creditors. When you relate the level of sales resulting from operations to the underlying working capital, you can measure how efficiently working capital is being used.

This ratio calculates the average number of times that interest owing is earned and, therefore, indicates the debt risk of a business. The larger the ratio, the more able a firm is to cover its interest obligations on debt.

This ratio is not very relevant for financial industries. This ratio is also known as "times interest earned. This is a solvency ratio, which indicates a firm's ability to pay its long-term debts. The lower the positive ratio is, the more solvent the business. The debt to equity ratio also provides information on the capital structure of a business, the extent to which a firm's capital is financed through debt.

This ratio is relevant for all industries. This is a solvency ratio indicating a firm's ability to pay its long-term debts, the amount of debt outstanding in relation to the amount of capital. The lower the ratio, the more solvent the business is. Net fixed assets represent long-term investment, so this percentage indicates relative capital investment structure. It indicates the profitability of a business, relating the total business revenue to the amount of investment committed to earning that income.

This ratio provides an indication of the economic productivity of capital. This percentage indicates the profitability of a business, relating the business income to the amount of investment committed to earning that income. This percentage is also known as "return on investment" or "return on equity. This percentage, also known as "return on total investment," is a relative measure of profitability and represents the rate of return earned on the investment of total assets by a business.

The higher the percentage, the better profitability is. This percentage represents the total of cash and other resources that are expected to be realized in cash, or sold or consumed within one year or the normal operating cycle of the business, whichever is longer. This percentage represents all claims against debtors arising from the sale of goods and services and any other miscellaneous claims with respect to non-trade transaction. It excludes loan receivables and some receivables from related parties.

This percentage represents tangible assets held for sale in the ordinary course of business, or goods in the process of production for such sale, or materials to be consumed in the production of goods and services for sale.

It excludes assets held for rental purposes. Two other substances are created as a result: caustic soda most commonly in the form of sodium hydroxide [NaOH] and hydrogen H 2.

A simple look at how chlorine is produced. Once the salt is mined, it must be transported to an industrial chlorine manufacturing facility, commonly called a chlor-alkali manufacturing facility. The salt can be dissolved in water to create a brine solution, then transported by pipeline to the facility. Otherwise, dry salt is transported by rail or barge to a manufacturing facility and then dissolved in water to make brine. However, the brine must be purified to remove potential contaminants, such as magnesium, calcium, and iron that have the potential to disrupt the electrolysis process described below.

To do so, brine is filtered by ion-exchange membranes that allow only the sodium and chloride ions, along with water, to pass through the membrane. The chlorine manufacturing process, which includes industrial preparation and production of chlorine, sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen, involves a common chemical reaction known as electrolysis. This reaction occurs when electricity is applied to brine. The chemical equation is:. Electricity is applied to the solution through two electrodes in the cell, the anode and cathode.

The anode has a positive charge, the cathode has a negative charge, and electrons flow from the anode to the cathode. The electrodes are submerged in the liquid brine.

The selectivity of the membrane keeps the final products physically separated. The positive charge of the anode attracts the negatively charged chloride ions. Upon contact with the anode, the chloride ions lose two electrons oxidization. Instantaneously, chlorine covalently bonds to itself to make Cl 2 gas that is removed from the electrolytic cell.

The negative charge of the cathode attracts the positively charged sodium and hydrogen ions often referred to as protons. At any time, the concentration of protons or hydroxide ions is very small; the position of equilibrium lies well to the left. The negative ions, chloride and hydroxide, are attracted to the positively charged anode.

It is easier to oxidize hydroxide ions to oxygen than to oxidize chloride ions to chlorine, but there are far more chloride ions arriving at the anode than hydroxide ions. Two chloride ions each give up an electron to the anode, and the atoms produced combine into chlorine gas. The chlorine is, however, contaminated with small amounts of oxygen because of a reaction involving hydroxide ions, which also give up electrons:. Sodium ions and protons from the water are attracted to the negative cathode.

It is much easier for a proton to pick up an electron than for a sodium ion to do so. Therefore, the following reaction occurs:. The net effect of this process is a buildup of sodium ions and newly-produced hydroxide ions at the cathode.

In other words, sodium hydroxide solution is formed. If chlorine comes into contact with hydrogen, it produces a mixture that explodes violently on exposure to sunlight or heat, producing hydrogen chloride gas. Clearly these gases must remain separated. However, chlorine also reacts with sodium hydroxide solution to produce a mixture of sodium chloride and sodium chlorate I , also known as sodium hypochlorite; this mixture is commonly sold as bleach.

In addition, when the desired products are chlorine and sodium hydroxide rather than bleach, chlorine and sodium hydroxide must also be kept apart. The diaphragm and membrane cells are designed to keep all the products separate.