Motivations and willingness for chlorine drying upgrades in chlor-alkali enterprises
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I have just started working in the chlor-alkali industry. Currently, sulfuric acid is generally used for dehydrating chlorine gas. With the existence of solid adsorbent drying technologies, if their cost is similar to that of sulfuric acid, would chlor-alkali plants be willing to implement such upgrades?
It cannot be considered solely from the perspective of cost; the following factors are also important: 1. Operational difficulty, 2. Follow-up processing, 3. Processing efficiency, 4. Stability, 5. Safety
If everything you said is correct, is there anyone willing to make the modifications?
That’s for sure. The sulfuric acid in use today is a highly corrosive substance, and diluted sulfuric acid after chlorine dehydration cannot be treated using simple dehydration methods due to the presence of small amounts of chlorine; as a result, its treatment is quite complicated. If replacing the water removal agent can solve these problems, then many companies will surely consider making such a change
It sounds very attractive. I wonder if any pilot or scale-up tests have been conducted; no company would dare to take such actions without doing any preliminary checks, nor can they afford to do so. It’s better to start with pilot and scale-up tests first.
Manufacturers for whom there are no issues with selling the waste sulfuric acid downstream have no incentive to carry out upgrades, nor do they want to go through the hassle. If there are manufacturers willing to take on the EPC work, is there any company interested in doing this?
Whether to make changes or not depends on: the cost and availability of concentrated sulfuric acid, the methods and benefits associated with the treatment of waste sulfuric acid, whether the drying parameters of concentrated sulfuric acid meet the requirements of the manufacturing process, the parameters and costs related to the drying of solids, as well as the methods and benefits for dealing with waste desiccants... Only through a comprehensive comparison of these factors can a decision be made regarding whether to make changes, as well as what the motivation and drive for such changes should be
I think you have the capabilities for EPC; it would be better to start with new projects. It’s not practical to try to make major modifications to a well-functioning sulfuric acid drying system suddenly. If you create a successful case, there’s no need to say much – everyone will take the initiative to calculate the costs and economic benefits of making modifications.
Yes, this is the key to deciding whether to change or not.
It is a mature technology; under conditions of low pressure, no one would attempt to modify a process that has not been put into actual production. In other words, no one dares to be the first to try this. What’s crucial is to have a foundation for industrial-scale production, and data and real-world examples are what prove this point. Nor does anyone dare to conduct experiments on new projects.
If there is a method that does not require drying with sulfuric acid, with no change in costs and backed by practical experience, then manufacturers will be willing to adopt this new technology