AkzoNobel Industrial Chemicals will apply a unique caustic soda evaporation system to its new membrane electrolysis plant at the Industry Park Höchst in Frankfurt, Germany. The system will enable 20% energy savings and will be supplied by Alfa Laval.

The evaporation system which will concentrate caustic soda from 32 wt% solution to 50 wt% solution based on evaporation and condensation heat exchangers. By combining the advantages of different types of heat exchangers it is, for the first time, feasible to concentrate caustic soda in a 4-effect evaporation system.

The installation will be built at AkzoNobel's new membrane plant in Frankfurt which will have a capacity of 275,000 ton caustic soda per year. The start-up of the installation is foreseen for the fourth quarter of 2013.