The key difference between liquid and granular chlorine is that liquid chlorine is in the liquid state, whereas granular chlorine is in the solid state.
Both liquid chlorine and granular chlorine are important as disinfectants for water in swimming pools. However, they have different chemical compositions as well as different properties and costs. Liquid chlorine is generally less costly than granular chlorine.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Liquid Chlorine
3. What is Granular Chlorine
4. Liquid vs Granular Chlorine in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Liquid vs Granular Chlorine
What is Liquid Chlorine?
Liquid chlorine or bleach is sodium hypochlorite, which is an aqueous solution created by mixing chlorine gas in water along with the concentration of sodium hydroxide. When adding liquid chlorine to a swimming pool, we can use about 52-104 oz for 10,000 gallons of water. This can get a chlorine level of 5-10 ppm. Moreover, liquid chlorine pool sanitizer is the single most proven, safest, and cost-effective sanitizer available.
Sodium hypochlorite can effectively destroy bacteria and prevents algae in swimming pools. It is manufactured at different trade percentages. The general forms of liquid chlorine have about 1.5% to 6% sodium hypochlorite by weight. But for use in swimming pool water, it has about 12.5% concentration.
We can classify this substance as an inorganic sanitizer that does not contain cyanuric acid. It is a primary sanitizer because it has the ability to kill microorganisms, oxidize nonliving contaminants such as ammonia and swimmer’s waste, and provides a protective residual in the water.
What is Granular Chlorine?
Granular chlorine is a type of dry chlorine that is primarily used in cleaning swimming pools. It is also known as calcium hypochlorite. It is one of the two forms of solid chlorine, the other being chlorine tablets. We can use this substance to disinfect or remove germs from swimming pools because it can quickly dissolve when added to water.
There are three major forms of granular chlorine known as di-chlor, lithium hypochlorite, and calcium hypochlorite. The available chlorine content in di-chlor is about 62%. It also contains cyanuric acid. This acid gives the substance a longer shelf life compared to the other forms of granular chlorine. We can add a large amount of chlorine to swimming pools in order to shock the pool and immediately kill the forms of bacteria as well as algae. Moreover, we can do it to nullify chemicals, including ammonia and nitrogen.
On the other hand, the chlorine content in lithium hypochlorite is about 35%, so we need more of this substance to get the same effect. Moreover, lithium hypochlorite has a high pH level. Using this disinfectant is beneficial because it is non-flammable and free of calcium, and it can also dissolve very fast. Furthermore, calcium hypochlorite has about 65% available chlorine. It has the highest available chlorine content among other solid chlorine disinfectants. Although it is highly unstable, it is very popular because of its low cost, effectiveness, and ability to dissolve quickly.
What is the Difference Between Liquid and Granular Chlorine?
Liquid chlorine and granular chlorine are two important forms of disinfecting agents. The key difference between liquid and granular chlorine is that liquid chlorine is in the liquid state, whereas granular chlorine is in the solid state. Liquid chlorine is sodium hypochlorite, while granular chlorine is calcium hypochlorite. Moreover, liquid chlorine is generally less costly than granular chlorine.
The below infographic presents the differences between liquid and granular chlorine in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Liquid vs Granular Chlorine
Liquid chlorine is sodium hypochlorite, which is an aqueous solution created by mixing chlorine gas in water along with the concentration of sodium hydroxide, while granular chlorine is a type of dry chlorine that is primarily useful in cleaning swimming pools. The key difference between liquid and granular chlorine is that liquid chlorine is in the liquid state, whereas granular chlorine is in the solid state.
Reference:
1. Victoria, Blackburn. “What Is Granular Chlorine?” Home Questions Answered, 31 Aug. 2022.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Liquid Pool Chlorine” By Maksym Kozlenko – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
