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First ferric chloride plant based on proprietary technology built in Kuwait

| By Gerald Ondrey

CAC builds first ferric chloride plant based on proprietary technology in Kuwait (Source: Gabriel-Georg Toepell/CAC)

The end of 2021 saw an important milestone for Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz (CAC; Germany) — the successful commissioning of the first ferric chloride plant using proprietary technology. In this plant, the client from Kuwait produces a saleable product, which can be used, among other things, for water treatment.

This first reference is an addition to CAC’s portfolio as one of the leading companies in the planning and construction of plants for the processing of products from chlor-alkali electrolysis. “After more than 20 years of experience in this field, we have developed a new technology with a lot of commitment as well as trust from the client. We have created a reference, which will be the basis for follow-up projects that are already in prospect,” says Jörg Engelmann, CEO of CAC.

For the client Al Kout Industrial Projects (AIP) in Kuwait, it is also the first ferric chloride plant. Located at the site in Shuaiba on the Persian Gulf, the plant uses feedstock such as iron scrap, hydrochloric acid and chlorine gas to produce a saleable product that is used as flocculant in water treatment, but also in the etching of printed circuit boards.

“My appreciation to the entire CAC team for their support during the startup despite this global pandemic. We will surely be glad to work with CAC again”, declares Faisal Malallah, CEO of Al Kout Industrial Projects.

The annual capacity of the industrial plant at the Shuaiba site in the Persian Gulf amounts to 20,000 tons of ferric chloride (FeCl3) (based on 100%) as a 40% solution. It will only take a few retrofit measures to adjust the design of plant hydraulics for the production of 40,000 ton/yr of FeCl3  if required. CAC was responsible for the preparation of the FEED package, detail engineering and supply of the main process equipment. AIP provided the bulk material supply, construction and installation of the plant.