1. Metal Treatment 

• Soldering and Brazing Flux: Zinc chloride acts as a flux, which removes oxides from metal surfaces. These oxides can prevent solder or brazing alloy from properly wetting and bonding to the metal, making it crucial for strong and reliable joints.
• Galvanizing Process: Zinc chloride is a key ingredient in the acid galvanizing process, where steel is coated with a layer of zinc for corrosion protection. It helps to maintain the correct concentration of zinc ions in the plating bath. It also increases the electrical conductivity of the plating solution, which allows for faster deposition and efficient use of electricity.
• Electroplating: Zinc chloride is used in zinc electroplating baths, where it acts as a salt to provide zinc ions and increases the conductivity of the solution.

2. Fabric Solutions

• Mordant: Zinc chloride helps dyes bind more strongly to fabric fibers, resulting in more vibrant and longer-lasting colors.
• Dehydrating Agent: Zinc chloride is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture, making it useful for removing water from fabrics during certain processing steps.

3. Water Treatment

• Corrosion inhibitor: Zinc chloride is an effective corrosion inhibitor because it forms a protective film on metal surfaces, especially in high-heat systems like steel mill cooling water. This film reduces the rate of corrosion by minimizing the interaction between the metal and the corrosive environment.
• Inhibitor: Zinc chloride is often used in cooling water treatment as part of a multi-chemical inhibitor package. It can also be used in combination with polyphosphates to enhance corrosion inhibition, especially when calcium levels in the water are low.

4. Performance Chemicals

• Lewis acid reactions: Zinc chloride is a well-known Lewis acid and is used to activate various organic reactions, accelerating the reaction rate and allowing for the synthesis of a range of organic compounds.
• Activated carbon production: Zinc chloride is used as an activating agent in the production of activated carbon, especially from cellulosic and lignocellulosic precursors. It acts as a dampening agent, allowing for the release of volatile substances and increasing the absorption of nitrogen on the activated carbon surface.

5. Energy

• Batteries: Zinc chloride is used in sodium-zinc chloride batteries where it acts as an electrolyte. It can also be part of the electrolyte in other types of zinc metal batteries. The use of ZnCl2-based electrolytes in zinc metal batteries helps mitigate issues like hydrogen evolution and capacity fading.
• Thermal Energy Storage: Zinc chloride is used in thermal energy storage applications, sometimes as a component of molten salt mixtures.

6. Pulp & Paper solutions

• Paper Treatment: Impregnating paper with Zinc chloride solutions can lead to increased strength and grease resistance.
• Vulcanized Fibre: Zinc chloride is used in the production of vulcanized fibre, which is a type of paper treated with zinc chloride.