ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES Public Version Legal name of applicant(s): Società Chimica Bussi S.p.A. (SCB) Submitted by: Società Chimica Bussi S.p.A. Substance: Sodium Dichromate Use title: Use of sodium dichromate as an additive for suppressing parasitic reactions and oxygen evolution, pH buffering and cathode corrosion protection in the electrolytic manufacture of sodium chlorite Use number: 1 Disclaimer This report has been prepared by Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd, with reasonable skill, care and diligence under a contract to the client and in accordance with the terms and provisions of the contract. Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd will accept no responsibility towards the client and third parties in respect of any matters outside the scope of the contract. This report has been prepared for the client and we accept no liability for any loss or damage arising out of the provision of the report to third parties. Any such party relies on the report at their own risk. Note This complete version of the Analysis of Alternatives includes some text and figures that are highlighted in grey. These parts of text have been blanked out in the public version of this document. Justification for confidentiality claims is provided in the Annex (Section 7) of the present document. Table of contents 1 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Use applied for ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Potential alternatives for sodium dichromate ................................................................................ 2 1.3 Suitability of the three identified alternatives to sodium dichromate .......................................... 5 1.4 Feasibility and availability of potential alternatives for sodium dichromate ................................. 6 1.5 Actions needed to improve the suitability and availability of potential alternatives ..................... 8 2 Analysis of substance function ............................................................................................ 13 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 The chlorate production process .................................................................................................. 13 2.3 Production of sodium chlorite ...................................................................................................... 20 2.4 Conditions of use and technical feasibility criteria ....................................................................... 21 2.5 Summary of functionality of sodium dichromate in the “Applied for Use” ................................. 27 3 Annual tonnage .................................................................................................................. 31 3.1 Tonnage band ............................................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Trends in the consumption of sodium dichromate ...................................................................... 31 3.3 Form and usage of sodium dichromate ........................................................................................ 31 4 Identification of possible alternatives.................................................................................. 33 4.1 List of possible alternatives ........................................................................................................... 33 4.2 Description of efforts made to identify possible alternatives ...................................................... 33 4.3 Screening of identified alternatives .............................................................................................. 66 5 Suitability and availability of possible alternatives ............................................................... 87 5.1 Introduction and scope of analysis ............................................................................................... 87 5.2 Sodium molybdate (two available forms) ..................................................................................... 87 5.3 Molybdenum-based coatings ....................................................................................................... 96 5.4 Two-compartment electrolytic systems ..................................................................................... 102 6 Overall conclusions on suitability and availability of possible alternatives .......................... 109 6.1 Technical feasibility of shortlisted alternatives .......................................................................... 109 6.2 Economic feasibility of shortlisted alternatives .......................................................................... 111 6.3 Reduction of risks from the use of shortlisted alternatives ........................................................ 112 6.4 Availability of shortlisted alternatives ........................................................................................ 113 6.5 Overall conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 114 7 Annex – Justifications for confidentiality claims ................................................................. 115 8 Appendix 1 – Information sources ..................................................................................... 121 1 Summary 1.1 Use applied for This Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) is part of an Application for the Authorisation (AfA) for the continued use of sodium dichromate (CAS No. 7789-12-0 & 10588-01-9; EINECS No. 234-190-3, hereafter referred to as “SD”) by the applicant, Società Chimica Bussi SpA (hereafter referred to as SCB), in the sodium chlorate (NaClO3) manufacturing process, where it acts as a crucial additive to the process. The sodium chlorate is an intermediate in the production of sodium chlorite. As is explained in the SEA (page 9), SCB is to build a new plant to produce Sodium Chlorite for use in the water treatment sector. SCB, the applicant, is part of an industrial holding (Gestioni Industriali Srl) controlled by the same shareholder which owns also Caffaro Brescia Srl (hereafter Caffaro). The new SCB plant will be run on almost the same basic technology as that of the Caffaro plant in Brescia, updated in line with modern techniques resulting in further minimisation of worker exposure and environmental impact. Caffaro currently holds an authorisation for the use of sodium dichromate in the production of sodium chlorite and is the main EU manufacturer of sodium chlorite for use in the water treatment sector. Caffaro previously applied for the Authorisation of the same use of SD as part of a group of 7 companies that represented 9 applicant companies; that group was known as Sodium Dichromate Authorisation Consortium (hereafter “SDAC”). As is demonstrated in the Caffaro Analysis of Alternatives1 , there is no other feasible technology available globally which enables the production of sodium chlorate, and this AoA demonstrates that this continues to be the case. The SCB plant has obtained the requisite building permits and financing and construction has begun and the plant is expected to be ready for operation towards the end of 2019. However, production cannot begin until this AfA has been evaluated. Caffaro holds the Brescia plant under rent and is not the owner of the land. The Brescia site is declared a Site of National Interest by the Italian authorities and a characterisation and reclamation intervention is planned. For this reason, it may be required relatively early, dependent on the needs and time schedule of public authorities, to surrender the facility available for these activities. The Bussi factory is also declared as part of a National Interest Site, but in this case the land is owned by SCB itself, the characterisation has been carried out, the Prevention Measures have been implemented, but no reclamation activities are planned. Caffaro has a significant commercial / application know-how that the common shareholder intends to continue to enhance. Moreover, if the Bussi site is not ready to replace Caffaro production when it will cease operation, a shortage of chlorite product on the market will occur. So, it must be completely operational in the case of formal request to stop the operation of the Caffaro plant by the public authorities. Note that the AoA undertaken for Caffaro has been used as the basis for this SCB AoA. Unless otherwise noted, the various relevant analyses and considerations of the first AoA still apply. Also, 1 https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/5e4bf84e-5725-4633-bb47-da66770a5b96 Use number: 1 Legal name of the applicant: Società Chimica Bussi SpA 1 due to the Caffaro AoA being the basis for this AoA, please also note the SCB plant it is frequently referred to in this document in the present tense i.e. as if it is already operational which it is not (construction has just begun). Generation of sodium chlorate is based on the electrolysis of sodium chloride (NaCl), at a controlled pH range, where the sodium chloride is converted into sodium chlorate while hydrogen evolves as a co-product. SD acts to increase the current efficiency of the conversion process by suppressing unwanted (parasitic cathodic) reactions and thus reducing the use of electrical