Abstract
Industrie De Nora SpA, a provider of electrodes and coatings for electrochemical processes, has recovered the sodium hypochlorite systems that were loaned to the municipality of Codogno in Italy during the acute phase of the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year.
On 6 March 2020, in the midst of the growth of the pandemic, De Nora had made four systems available for the production of sodium hypochlorite and provided support for operators with training and the skills needed to use the equipment and to handle the produced solution.
In the April 2020 issue of Membrane Technology (pages 1 & 14) we reported how De Nora was helping to fight against the spread of coronavirus in Italy. It supported the efforts of the Civil Protection Department by deploying four electrochlorination systems to “red zones” in Codogno, 70 km (about 44 miles) south of Milan.
These systems produce sodium hypochlorite, a chlorine equivalent that is suitable for the disinfection of hard surfaces and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is effective against the proliferation of the COVID-19 virus.
Francesco Passerini, Mayor of Codogno and Cristian Carboni, Light Industrial Market Manager, De Nora, wanted to formalise the withdrawal of the generators to symbolise the end of the critical phase of the pandemic and the progressive return to “normal” of the town and the Lodi area.
The Civil Protection Department of Codogno and De Nora have worked in close collaboration from the start of the emergency to address the problems related to the shortage of bleach. The department has not only managed to satisfy its immediate need, but has also extended its aid across the entire Lombardy region through to central Italy.
The sanitising solution produced by the De Nora systems was distributed by many municipalities not only in the Lodi area, but also in the provinces of Crema, Bergamo, Brescia and Milan in order to help schools, associations, state agencies, clinics, hospitals and care homes.
On-site sodium hypochlorite generators are used worldwide for a variety of applications, ranging from drinking-water treatment to microbiological control in cooling towers, using a simple saline solution (water and salt) and electricity to produce chlorine-based disinfectant.
The company has already provided similar systems in China, Japan and Singapore for the sanitisation and disinfection of offices and production sites in response to COVID-19 outbreaks. The city of Nankang used two systems supplied by De Nora, originally for water purification, to aid in the disinfection of buildings and other public areas.
For further information, visit: www.denora.com