The 3rd LANXESS “Clean Water for Better Life" University Students Research Competition Kicked off in Shanghai

June 9, 2017, Shanghai – Specialty chemicals company LANXESS kicked off the 3rd LANXESS China “Clean Water for Better Life” University Students Research Competition at its Greater China HQ in Shanghai. 18 projects of 12 colleges and universities from Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tongji University, and Wuhan University have been selected and will be followed by a three-month water research. Ming Cheng Chien, CEO of LANXESS Greater China, Zhihong Yu, President of China WTO Tribune, LANXESS volunteers and student representatives attended the kick-off ceremony.

Julien Ogier, application engineer for film technology marketing of LANXESS Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) business unit introduced to the students the “Application and Case Analysis of Reverse Osmosis Membrane Technology in Wastewater Reuse”, demonstrating the performance data of plants that use reverse osmosis elements with ASD under actual circumstances.

As early as in June 2015, LANXESS initiated the first “Clean Water for Better Life” University Students Water Resources Protection and Utilization Research Competition jointly with China WTO Tribune, when the Action Plan for Prevention and Treatment of Water Pollution was issued. The competition mainly opened to students from five universities along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Many research projects were collected from the area.

The "Clean Water for Better Life" University Students Water Resources Protection and Utilization Research Competition attracted 116 participants in the first two years, generated a total of 25 solutions for water challenges and received more than 25,000 public votes. With the competition held in the last two years, a new model of multi-party participation and cross-border cooperation has been initially formed among LANXESS, China WTO Tribune, colleges and universities, government agencies, industry associations, etc.
"Due to China‘s large population, environmental pollution, natural geology, etc., some areas are still facing the problem of unsafe drinking water, especially the underprivileged rural areas, where drinking water safety has become a constraint to regional development." said Ming Cheng Chien, CEO of LANXESS Greater China, "LANXESS has focused on the water treatment industry for nearly 80 years and has been actively working to help improve the supply of clean water. We hope to encourage more college students to understand the current situation of China's water resources and propose innovative water resources protection programs."

It is worth mentioning that the participating schools in this year’s competition are from all over China instead of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River as in the last two years. This year’s event includes mainly four stages: in the first stage - May 2017, projects were solicited from student organizations and interest groups of colleges and universities nationwide; in June, the project organizer will proceed with the project screening and review to determine the list of projects to be funded and hold a kick-off meeting; from June to August, the winning projects will be implemented by project teams under the guidance of LANXESS volunteers; from September to October, the project teams will start reporting, while internal and external experts will be invited to review the projects, and select and honor the outstanding ones.

This year, LANXESS will also work with China WTO Tribune to jointly publish the first public white paper on water treatment in China, which will elaborate from a collaborative innovation perspective, based on global vision, industry development and reality in China. It will also summarize the analysis reports of relevant experts and scholars and  select a number of outstanding projects of this competition for case study, in order to promote industrial chain innovation focused on sustainable management of water resources.

After the kick-off ceremony, representatives of the contesting teams will also visit the LANXESS booth at AQUATECH CHINA. The focus of LANXESS Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) business unit‘s presentation at this exhibition is on Lewatit ion exchange resins, Lewabrane reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements, LewaPlus design software and Bayoxide iron oxide adsorbent. Technical experts from the LANXESS Liquid Purification Technology business unit will provide theoretical and practical support for water treatment for participating students over the next few months.

About LANXESS

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.7 billion in 2016 and about 19,200 employees in 25 countries. The company is currently represented at 75 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through ARLANXEO, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, LANXESS is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World) and FTSE4Good.

LANXESS China

On Jan. 31, 2005, LANXESS AG was initially listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and its subsidiary LANXESS Chemical (China) Co., Ltd. officially began operations. Today, LANXESS has 17 subsidiaries including 3 joint ventures, 9 production sites as well as 9 R&D centers with about 1,900 employees in Greater China. LANXESS works closely with its local partners to develop market-oriented solutions that meet local market needs.

Forward-Looking Statements

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