Uhde building 'first ever' skid-mounted chlor-alkali plant
18 Mar 2011
Leuna, Germany – Uhde GmbH has started construction of what, it believes, will be the world’s first skid-mounted chlor-alkali electrolysis plant.
Epoxy resin producer Leuna-Harze GmbH selected Uhde to build a turnkey membrane electrolysis plant with a capacity of 15ktpa of chlorine. Commissioning is planned for mid-2012.
Uhde’s scope of services includes the process licence, design and engineering, procurement, construction work and commissioning support.
The concept, which was developed by AkzoNobel, UHDENORA and Uhde, enables the economic viability of plants with annual capacities of up to 15,000 tonnes of chlorine to be improved. For many chlorine consumers the concept will thus represent a viable alternative for the supply of liquid chlorine.
Although the design for this type of plant is based on Uhde’s proven membrane technology, a high degree of standardisation has greatly reduced the engineering work involved in plants of this type compared with conventional plants.
The central skids are prefabricated, assembled and checked before being delivered to the construction site. This, said Uhde, minimises the amount of erection work that needs to be done on site as all that remains is to join together the skids that are delivered.
Peripheral plant sections are still individually engineered in a conventional manner and integrated into the overall plant.
“Skid mounting allows smaller electrolysis plants to be built much more cost effectively than would be possible within the framework of a conventional plant design,” said Dr. Sami Pelkonen, Head of Uhde’s Electrolysis division.
The concept, he added, offers an answer to the question of how the supply to local chlorine consumers can be secured even without transporting and handling liquid chlorine.
