When it's used properly, chlorine bleach can make your kitchen cleaner and your white clothes whiter. To learn more about bleach, see the links on the next page. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar.
Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Bath and Laundry. How Bleach Works. Chlorine Bleach for Laundry Chlorine bleach contains the active ingredient sodium hypochlorite NaOCl , while non-chlorine bleaches have different active ingredients for different purposes.
Chlorine Bleach as a Disinfectant " ". Bleach can disinfect countertop surfaces and protect from a variety of bacteria. Proper Use of Chlorine Bleach " ". When used improperly, bleach can be an extremely harmful substance. Many people wear gloves when using bleach to protect their hands. Environmental Impact of Chlorine Bleach Use " ". Bleach is mainly a problem when your skin comes into contact with it, but it doesn't pose too many environmental risks.
Why do some clothing items have a tag saying to wash the item before wearing? How Dry Cleaning Works. A history of the international chemical industry 2nd Edition ed. Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Mountain State Water Line. West Virgina Rural Water Association. Huang, J. Pediatrics , 5 , ee Integrated Risk Information System: Chlorine. Newton Ask a Scientist. Make a new diluted bleach solution daily.
Bleach solutions will not be as effective after being mixed with water for over 24 hours. More Information. Healthy Water Sites. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
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CDC is not responsible for Section compliance accessibility on other federal or private website. Cancel Continue. In Holland for example, chlorine is transported in separate chlorine trains. How can chlorine be stored? Watery chlorine should be protected from sunlight. Chlorine is broken down under the influence of sunlight. UV radiation in sunlight provides energy which aids the break-down of underchloric acid HOCl molecules. First, the water molecule H 2 O is broken down, causing electrons to be released which reduce the chlorine atom of underchloric acid to chloride Cl -.
Chlorine is produced from chlorine bonds by means of electrolytic or chemical oxidation. This is often attained by electrolysis of seawater or rock salt. The salts are dissolved in water, forming brine. Brine can conduct a powerful direct current in an electolytic cell. Because of this current chlorine ions which originate from salt dissolving in water are transformed to chlorine atoms.
Salt and water are divided up in sodium hydroxide NaOH and hydrogen gas H 2 on the cathode and chlorine gas on the anode. These cathode and anode products should be separated, because hydrogen gas reacts with chlorine gas very agressively. Which methods can be used to produce chlorine? To produce chlorine, three different electrolysis methods are used. The diaphragm cell-method, which prevents products to mix or react by means of a diaphragm. The electrolysis barrel contains a positive pole, made of titanium and a negative pole, made of steel.
The electrodes are separated by a so-called diaphragm, which is a wall that only lets fluids flow through, causing gasses that form during a reaction to be separated. The application of the countercurrent principle prevents hydroxide ions from reaching the positive pole.
However, chlorine ions can pass through the diaphragm, causing the sodium hydroxide to become slightly polluted with chlorine. The mercury cell-methode uses one mercury electrode, causing the reaction products to be purer than those of the diaphragm cell-methode. With this method an electrolysis barrel is used which contains a positive titanium pole and a negative flowing mercury pole.
When the amalgams flow through a second reaction barrel, sodium reacts with water to sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. This causes the hydrogen gas to remain separated from the chlorine gas, which is formed on the positive pole. The membrane-method resembles the diaphragm method. The only difference is that the membrane only allows positive ions to pass, causing a relatively pure form of sodium hydroxide to form. However, during the membrane and diaphragm processes the solution must be evaporated using steam.
Chlorine can also be produced by means of hydrogen chloride oxidation with oxygen from air. Chlorine is a very reactive element, causing it to quickly form compounds with other substances. Chlorine also has the ability to develop a bond between two substances that do not normally react with one another.
When chlorine bonds to a substance that contains carbon atoms, organic substances are formed. Examples are plastic, solvents and oils, but also several human body fluids. When chlorine chemically binds to other elements, it often replaces a hydrogen atom during a so-called substitution reaction. Multiple hydrogen atoms in the same molecule can be replaced by chlorine atoms, causing new substances to form one after another. Chlorine plays an important role in medical science.
It is not only used as a disinfectant, but it is also a constituent of various medicines. The majority of our medicines contain chlorine or are developed using chlorine-containing byproducts. Medical herbs also contain chlorine. The first anaesthetic used during surgery was chloroform CHCl 3. The chemical industry creates ten thousands of chlorine products using a small number of chlorine containing chemicals. Emaples of products which contain chlorine are glue, paints , solvents, foam rubbers, car bumpers, food additives, pesticides and antifreeze.
One of the most commonly used chlorine-containing substances is PVC poly vinyl chloride. PVC is widely used, for example in drainpipes, insulation wires, floors, windows, bottles and waterproof clothes. Chlorine-based bleach is applied as a disinfectant on a large scale. The substances are also used to bleach paper. Bleaching occurs as a result of chlorine or hypochlorite oxidation. The remaining chlorine is used to produce inorganic compounds from chlorine and several different elements, such as zinc Zn , iron Fe and titanium Ti.
Chlorine as a disinfectant Chlorine is one of the most widely used disinfectants. It is very applicable and very effective for the deactivation of pathogenic microorganisms.
Chlorine can be easily applied, measures and controlled. While often as effective a disinfectant as bleach, these compounds are also much gentler on fabrics. To sum it up, bleach is one of many chemicals that work as a disinfectant, though one with serious stain removing power, so be mindful of where and when you use it. But whichever Lysol product you reach for, always be sure to follow the label instructions to kill When to use bleach vs.
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