Industrial Applications 

The chemical industry plays a fundamental role in our modern economy. Even though most of its products are not directly visible to consumers, they are used in the manufacture of most of the goods we consume every day.

Ammoniumbifluoride can be used as a drilling aid for softening silica rocks in the exploration of oil and gas fields.

The new generation hydrofluorocarbons HFC 125 (pentafluoroethane) and HFC 227ea (heptafluoropropane) are now used for providing universal handling possibilities. Similarly Solkaflam 125 and Solkaflam^® 227 are important halon substitutes, primarily in sectors where space and weight are constrained or speed of suppression is vital.

Solkane^® refrigerants replace the conventionally used chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s) and are therefore an environmentally safe alternative. Solkane^® refrigerants are applied to commercial and industrial refrigeration systems, household refrigerators, heat pumps, all kinds of unitary and centralized A/C systems as well as transport cooling and mobile air conditioning.

Persalts can be used in textile applications as a solid alternative to hydrogen peroxide. They can be used as the bleaching agent to improve fabric whiteness or in the dyeing process for the fixation of VAT and sulphur dyes.

Today’s metallurgy industry draws on a variety of sophisticated techniques, depending on the nature of the metal and its intended use.

Calcium Peroxide is used in the gold mining industry. Solvay can supply Calcium Peroxide as a finished (dry) product or provide assistance to customers wishing to generate Calcium Peroxide on site in slurry form.
Sodium bicarbonate can be used in the alkaline leaching of some ore for extracting the relevant mineral. Solvay offers BICAR^® TEC grade for such applications.

Inorganic peroxides have unique advantages in this field. They are slightly soluble in water and have relatively high stability to decomposition at elevated temperatures. At the desired time, these products can be activated by the addition of an acid or by other means.

Plastic processing covers a broad range of technologies such as extrusion of plastic through a circular die, followed by "bubble-like" expansion to explain it in general terms.

In the vulcanisation process the reaction between sulphur and rubber compounds take place in order to create hardness and elasticity. A homogeneous mixture is essential for this process, so the very fine ground Solvay Sulphur is used in the blending process. Rubber is also used in many other applications.

Inorganic Fluorides are used for a wide range of etching and cleaning applications not only for glass and stainless steel but also for non-ferrous metal pieces. They also work as components in cleaning and disinfecting solutions, e.g. in breweries, sugar factories, power plants and for building protection.