Editing Chloralkali process (section)

== History ==
The chloralkali process has been in use since the 19th century and is a primary industry in the [[United States]], [[Western Europe]], and [[Japan]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Crook|first1=Jedidiah|last2=Mousavi|first2=Aliyar|date=2016-07-02|title=The chlor-alkali process: A review of history and pollution|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/15275922.2016.1177755|journal=Environmental Forensics|volume=17|issue=3|pages=211–217|doi=10.1080/15275922.2016.1177755|bibcode=2016EnvFo..17..211C |s2cid=99354861|issn=1527-5922|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The chlor-alkali process: A review of history and pollution|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303745670|access-date=2020-10-05|website=ResearchGate|language=en}}</ref> It has become the principal source of chlorine during the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chlor-alkali process|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/chlor-alkali-process|access-date=2020-10-05|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> The [[#Diaphragm cell|diaphragm cell process]] and the [[#Mercury cell|mercury cell process]] have been used for over 100 years but are environmentally unfriendly through their use of [[asbestos]] and [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], respectively. The [[#Membrane cell|membrane cell process]], which was only developed in the past 60 years, is a superior method with its improved [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] and lack of harmful chemicals.<ref name=":0" />

Although the first formation of chlorine by the electrolysis of brine was attributed to chemist [[William Cruickshank (chemist)|William Cruikshank]] in 1800, it was 90 years later that the electrolytic method was used successfully on a commercial scale. Industrial scale production began in 1892.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|date=2005|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/0-306-48624-5_2|title=Handbook of Chlor-Alkali Technology |chapter=History of the Chlor-Alkali Industry |pages=17–36|editor-last=O'Brien|editor-first=Thomas F.|place=Boston, MA|publisher=Springer |language=en|doi=10.1007/0-306-48624-5_2|isbn=978-0-306-48624-1|access-date=2020-10-05|editor2-last=Bommaraju|editor2-first=Tilak V.|editor3-last=Hine|editor3-first=Fumio}}</ref> In 1833, [[Michael Faraday|Faraday]] formulated the laws that governed the electrolysis of aqueous solutions, and patents were issued to Cook and Watt in 1851 and to Stanley in 1853 for the electrolytic production of chlorine from brine.<ref name=":1" />[[File:Cell room of a chlorine-caustic soda plant.JPG|thumb|upright=1.25|Cell room of a chlor-alkali plant ca. 1920]]