Bondalti to restart former Solvay chlor-alkali plant in Torrelavega, Spain by year-end

LONDON (ICIS)–Bondalti is to restart chlor-alkali production in Torrelavega, northern Spain, by the end of this year, the Portuguese chemicals producer confirmed to ICIS on Friday.

The new unit will have a capacity of 68,000 tonnes/year.

Bondalti, at the time named CUF, agreed to acquire the plant from Belgium’s chemicals major Solvay in 2017, for an undisclosed sum.

The plant will produce chlorine, caustic soda, hydrogen, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite, a spokesperson for Bondalti said.

The plant has been reconverted to meet new chlor-alkali EU production standards.

According to EU regulations that came into force by the end of 2017, chlorine plants had to shift from mercury-based technology to membrane filtration.

Capital expenditure (capex) for the plant’s reconversion stood at €55m, said a spokesperson for Bondalti, adding it would create 150 direct and indirect jobs.

“This will be an innovative unit using the best available technologies of the chlor-alkali industry,” said the spokesperson.

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Source: Google Maps 2019

Additional reporting by  Chris Barker 

Pictured: Torrelavega’s chemical complex 
Source: Solvay