History and uses:

Date of Discovery: 1774
Discoverer: Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Name Origin: From the Greek word khlôros (green)
Uses: Water purification, bleaches
Obtained From: Salt

Chlorine (Gr. chloros, greenish yellow) Discovered in 1774 by Scheele, who thought it contained oxygen; named in 1810 by Davy, who insisted it was an element. In nature it is found in the combined state only, chiefly with sodium as common salt (NaCl), carnallite, and sylvite. It is a member of the halogen (salt-forming) group of elements and is obtained from chlorides by the action of oxidizing agents and more often by electrolysis; it is a greenish-yellow gas, combining directly with nearly all elements. At 10C one volume of water dissolves 3.10 volumes of chlorine, at 30C only 1.77 volumes. Chlorine is widely used in making many everyday products. It is used for producing safe drinking water the world over. Even the smallest water supplies are now usually chlorinated. It is also extensively used in the production of paper products, dyestuffs, textiles, pretoleum products, medicines, antiseptics, insecticides, foodstuffs, solvents, paints, plastics, and many other consumer products. Most of the chlorine produced is used in the manufacture of chlorinated compounds for sanitation, pulp bleaching, disinfectants, and textile processing.