ThyssenKrupp (Italy)

Chlorine and caustic soda are between them the most important basic chemicals for production of a wide range of products that are the basis of the modern economy. It has been estimated that approximately 50% of products on the market today are linked to chlorine directly and/or as an intermediate during their production. Today's worldwide installed capacity of 76.8 million tons of chlorine is produced through the electrolysis of concentrated solutions of sodium chloride, (brine), with three different technologies that have developed in time: mercury, diaphragm, and ion exchange membrane. For the last 20 years, membrane technology has been the state of the art for all new chlorine plants, and the technical evolution of electrolysis has focused on its advancements. This chapter describes the different production technologies, with particular emphasis on ion exchange membrane electrolysis. Distinctive characteristics of the chlorine industry will be analyzed, detailing the drivers for innovation and the trend in ongoing research for the next generation of electrolyzers. The role of hydrogen in chlorine plants will also be discussed: being a co-product of the electrolysis reaction, this hydrogen is often considered as an early market fuel for innovative technologies, such as fuel cells for stationary or transportation applications.

An On-Line Inspection System for stainless steel strip exploiting Machine Vision and Magnetic Imaging apparatuses has been developed at the ThyssenKrupp-Acciai Speciali Terni S.p.A.. The main goal of the research is represented by the fusion of the information provided by the two apparatuses that can improve the detection and classification tasks by enlarging the set of detectable defects. Preliminary results and developing perspectives are presented.