The active ingredient of chlorine bleach, a powerful oxidant and bleaching agent, is sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). The majority of the increase in home bleach use is due to population growth. As a result of population growth and associated increases in water consumption, combined with limited fresh water resources, water treatment is the most common and fastest-growing application for bleach. The manufacturing of sodium hypochlorite chemicals is a well-established industry process, and the same approach is used to minimise chlorine emissions in chlor-alkali facilities.
Bleach (Sodium hypochlorite) is a natural-source chemical that is used to whiten clothes. Bleach works by the oxidation process, which involves the introduction of oxygen molecules into a chemical.
A stain is simply a chemical composition that breaks down into smaller parts when bleach is added, allowing it to separate from the fabric.
Sodium hypo chlorite, often known as Chemic, was first used to bleach linen in the textile business. Cotton, too, was bleached using hypochlorite when it became popular. In the United States, hypochlorite is still used for certain bleaching, but it is more often utilised in Europe. Approximately 2.5 – 5 gm/lit of available chlorine is employed in a continuous procedure at 40 – 50°C for 0.25 – 0.5 h. To prevent colour reversion, the hypochlorite treatment is followed by an antichlor treatment (Sodium Bisulfite, Sulfur dioxide, or hydrogen peroxide) (formation of chloramines).
Hypochlorite bleaching produces a brighter white, but it necessitates considerably more careful monitoring.
The most extensively used of all chlorinated bleaches is liquid bleach, often known as soda bleach liquor in the paper and textile sectors. Every day in the United States, around 150 tonnes of accessible chlorine as liquid bleach is used for home and laundry beaching. Chemical processing (e.g., chlorhydrination), textile bleaching, water treatment, and general disinfection are some of the other applications.
Commercial liquid bleach typically has a chlorine content of 12 to 15% accessible chlorine. It's available in carboys, rubber-lined drums, and crucks. The majority of the domestic bleach trade is liquid bleach solution with 3 to 514 percent accessible chlorine packed in brown or amber glass bottles for use in the home, laundry, and sanitising.
The 5 or 514 percent product has become popular in recent years.
The demand from the wastewater chemical treatment sector has increased dramatically as a result of rising urbanisation and industrialization, particularly in emerging nations such as China and India, which notably adds to the expansion of the sodium hypochlorite market. The sodium hypochlorite market is expected to be bolstered in the next years by exponentially increasing bleach demand from the textile and pulp and paper industries. The sodium hypochlorite market is predicted to grow during this time due to an increase in demand for the chemical in the medical industry for sanitising surgical instruments and hospital rooms.
The market for sodium hypochlorite is expected to reach USD 205 million in 2020, with a CAGR of approximately 5.5 percent between 2022 and 2027, owing to its use in wastewater treatment, household cleaning products, textiles, and the chemical sector. The market is predicted to develop due to rising popularity of sodium hypochlorite as a bleach and disinfectant in water treatment and domestic hygiene products.
For the past two centuries, sodium hypochlorite has been widely employed in textile finishing. Sodium hypochlorite is now used in textile production for the preshrinking of wool. Other compounds have mostly replaced sodium hypochlorite in earlier applications such as cotton whitening, stonewashing jeans, and dyed textile decolorization.
However, following use, the bleaching effluent is subjected to a sulphite-based dichlorination process, resulting in a final discharge devoid of oxidative chlorine.
The market is rising due to increased demand for the product from the water treatment chemical industry. Chlorine is an important component of disinfectants since it has the ability to kill diseases like bacteria and fungi. Purification and treatment of water and sewage, swimming pools, residences, hospitals, schools, drinking water, and surgical tools are all applications for this product. Furthermore, as a result of improved hygienic standards among customers, proper and ongoing disinfection of public bathrooms, office spaces, outdoor areas, public complexes, and malls has led to a significant demand for this product.
Industry Major Market Players
· Advance Chemicals
· The Clorox Company
· Hawkins
· ICL
· Kemira
· Occidental Petroleum Corporation
· Odyssey Manufacturing
· Olin Corporation
· PCC Group
· Vynova Group