AkzoNobel Industrial Chemicals will apply a unique caustic soda evaporation system to its new membrane electrolysis plant at the Industry Park Höchst in Frankfurt, Germany.
The system will enable 20% energy savings and will be supplied by Alfa Laval. The evaporation system which will concentrate caustic soda from 32 wt% solution to 50 wt% solution based on evaporation and condensation heat exchangers. By combining the advantages of different types of heat exchangers it is, for the first time, feasible to concentrate caustic soda in a 4-effect evaporation system. This unique Alfa Laval design will enable energy savings of 20% compared to the best traditional designs. The installation will be built at AkzoNobel’s new membrane plant in Frankfurt which will have a capacity of 275,000 ton caustic soda per year. The start-up of the installation is foreseen for the fourth quarter of 2013.
In the contract AkzoNobel and Alfa Laval have agreed that both companies will work closely together to further optimize the installation in order to achieve the lowest possible energy consumption. “The installation of this unique system will boost our ambition to become the sustainability leader in the chlor-alkali industry”, said Martin Riswick, General Manager of AkzoNobel’s Chlor-Alkali business.
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