Dependence of the sound velocity on the NaCl concentration
The chlorine-alkali-electrolysis is one of the most important processes in the chemical industry that leads to the production of two significant basic chemicals: chlorine and caustic soda.
The chlorine-alkali-process is carried out industrially in two procedures: the diaphragm and the membrane process.
Sodium chloride (NaCl, brine) is the initial product for the chlorine-alkali-electrolysis. The cheapest method for brine poduction is the leaching of the rock salt storage in mines.
Use of LiquiSonic® for chlorine-alkali electrolysis
The brine obtained in the mines is transported by ship, rail or special piping to the destination where it is then dissolved with warm water in large vessels. The raw brine contains mechanical impurities and calcium or magnesium salts, which clog the fine pores of the diaphragma or membrane during the electrolysis.
For this reason, these impurities are precipitated in a stirred vessel by addition of sodium hydroxid (NaOH). After precipitation, the impurities are separated by means of a pressure filter.
For the subsequent electrolysis, the purtity of the brine concentration is of particular importance. The LiquiSonic® measuring system guarantees at all time high-precision determination of the brine concentration.
Advantages of monitoring brine purification with LiquiSonic®
The inline LiquiSonic® measuring technology enables a reduction of consuming manual laboratory measurements. This leads to cost-savings and personnel savings:
- time saving: 1 h per day
- amortization: below 12 month
Through the exact determination of the brine by LiquiSonic® measuring technology, the following aspects can be optimized:
- life of the membrane
- reduction of electrical energy (electrolysis)
- increase the yield of the overall process
- reduction of water or steam consumption (when dissolving the salt)
Installation in the electrolysis process
The LiquiSonic® sensors are installed in the transport pipeline DN80 after the dissolving vessel and pressure filter.
concentration range from NaCl: 0 to 30 wt%
temperature range: 0 to 100 °C