The indicators aim at monitoring the long-term performance of the chlor-alkali industry. The companies of the sector continue to reaffirm their goal of promoting growth without losing sight of social-environmental performance and their commitment to sustainability.

1. Companies in the sector : industrial technologies and installed capacity

Chlorine and caustic soda or caustic potash are produced by electrolysis using three main industrial technologies: mercury cells, diaphragm cells and membrane cells. In 2013, Diaphragm technology maintained the lead (accounting for 63% of the installed capacity, of which 9% used diaphragm without asbestos and 54% with chrysotile), followed by Membrane technology (23% of installed capacity) and Mercury technology (14% of installed capacity).

Installed capacity of chlorine by process

2. Capacity utilization level

Currently the installed capacity of chlorine is 1,548.6 thousand tons/year and for caustic soda 1,689.8thousand tons/year. Over the 12 months in 2013, the average rate of installed capacity utilization was 83%, with the highest rate occurring in the month of July: 88.2%.

Under normal conditions, the industry operates with rates above 87%. Over the past three years, the average annual capacity utilization was hindered by problems in electric power supply (blackouts).

Average rate of capacity utilization (chlorine basis)

3. Chlorine and Soda - main applications

The productive chain of chlorine and caustic soda begins with the electrolysis of sodium chloride or potassium chloride brine. In this process, besides chlorine and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) or caustic potash (potassium hydroxide), hydrogen, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite are also produced.

The applications of chlorine are very diversified: chlorine is present in the production of 60% of all chemicals products of relevant commercial importance and 85% of the pharmaceutical products. To illustrate the diversity of economic sectors where chlorine is present in the production process, we mention the following: DCE - dichloroethane (raw material used to manufacture PVC resins), propene oxide (used to produce foams for manufacturing mattresses and upholstery), hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite, water treatment, pharmaceuticals and pesticides, among others.

The applications of soda are also considerably diversified, among which the following stand out: pulp & paper, chemical & petrochemical, metallurgy (production of alumina for the aluminum industry), soaps & detergents, textile industry and food.

The charts below show the behavior of chlorine and caustic soda consumption in 2013, by segment:

Caustic soda - 2013 market segmentation of domestic production

Chlorine - 2013 Market segmentation of domestic production

4. Total sales/taxes

A significant part of the income generated by the chlor-alkali industry is transferred to the government in the way of taxes and social contributions.
The charts below show the evolution of net sales and taxes generated by the industry in the past years.

Net sales of the chlor-alkali industry

Taxes generated

5. Inputs: electric power and salt or rock salt

Electric power is the main input in the chlor-alkali industry, which is known to be electro-intensive, and its share in the total production cost adds to around 45%. Consequently, the chlor-alkali industry depends on securing power supply at a competitive cost. The high price of electric power in Brazil has compromised the industry’s competitiveness.

The chart below shows the price of electricity at an international level:

Price of electric power for the chlor-alkali industry - international level - 2013

In 2013, to produce 1,247.9 thousand tons of chlorine, 4,005.7 GWh of electric power were used, equivalent to 3,2 MWh per ton of chlorine produced.

The other key input used in the chlor-alkali industry is salt, which can be of marine origin or rock salt.In 2013, the industry’s production used 2,381.4 thousand tons of salt: 61% coming from mines (rock salt), corresponding to a specifi c consumption of 2.2; and 39% from the sea (marine origin), with a specifi c consumption of 1.7.

The charts below show the evolution of the specifi c consumption of energy (MWh per t

Eletric power - specifi c consumption (chlorine basis)

Marine salt and rock salt - specif consumption

6. Hydrogen

The hydrogen gas generated during the electrolysis process as a co-product of chlorine and soda is of high quality and can be used both as a raw material and as fuel to generate process steam. The industry has been using this gas at levels superior to 80%, which is considered a good indicator.

Hydrogen used (%)

7. Safety, health and the environment

Safety at work is a constant concern for the chlor-alkali industry, which has been investing intensively to prevent incidents and accidents. This concern applies to the industries own employees and contracted parties alike, who adopt the same safety and protection policies, without distinction.

The safety and updating of productive processes follow the same lines. Aimed at reducing incidents or production losses and improving competitiveness, the industry pursues the best market practices, adopting the technological advances available in terms of prevention in favor of the environment, safety and occupational health.

The chart below shows the frequency of accidents with leave of absence in the chlor-alkali industry. In 2011, the increased number of events occurring in production units has raised this indicator expressively. The industry has been working exhaustively on the prevention of such incidents/ accidents through training, inspections and motivation of its employees aimed at improving this indicator, and a trend of reduced accidents can already be observed in 2012 and 2013.

Frequency of accidents resulting in leaves of absence in the chlor-alkali industry
Own employees and contracted personnel (per million hours worked)

8. Safety in transportation of products from the chlor-alkali industry

For 17 years, Abiclor has promoted the annual meeting of transportation companies where the best techniques and practices for safe transportation of the industry’s products are discussed.

The indicator below shows the effort that companies in the industry have made to reduce accidents in the transportation of chlorine, soda and derivatives in recent years. In recent years, the sector has considerably reduced the frequency rate of accidents.

Frequency of accidents per 10,000 trips