LANXESS at Sustainabilitylive! 2011, May 24 to 26,  Birmingham, Hall 3A, Stand K26

Ion exchange resins – Small beads take on big tasks

Leverkusen – As part of Sustainabilitylive! 2011, specialty chemicals company LANXESS is presenting ion exchange resins from its proven Lewatit range at IWEX in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from May 24 to 26. The focus is on technologies for treating drinking, ultrapure and wastewater, as well as water for the nuclear power plant industry. 

The mixed event Sustainabilitylive!, which takes place every four years, combines Great Britain’s five leading environmental exhibitions: BEX (Brownfield Expo), ET (Environmental Technology), NEMEX (National Energy Management Exhibition), SB (Sustainable Business) and IWEX (Industrial Water Expo). “We are introducing our high-performance products and comprehensive services here because in terms of industrial expertise and innovation, it’s the most important exhibition and congress event across the United Kingdom in the fields of the environment, energy, water, sustainability and remediation. We reach a broad public here from all of western Europe,” says Jean-Marc Vesselle, head of the Ion Exchange Resins (ION) business unit. “In this age of global water problems, operators of municipal water treatment plants, environmental associations and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are searching here for innovative solutions, and the demand was never greater than it is today,” adds Vesselle.

“Even supposedly familiar, proven systems are not always operated at ideal levels as far as chemical use and water consumption are concerned. We advise our customers extensively on how to achieve optimal efficiency with our products and technologies,” says Stefan Hilger, global head of Industrial Water Treatment segment at ION.

For example, depending on the process, heterodisperse ion exchange resins can be replaced by monodisperse grades from the Lewatit MonoPlus family. These beads offer high chemical, mechanical and osmotic stability as a result of their optimized particle size distribution, with a uniformity coefficient significantly below 1.1. These properties have a positive effect on the operating capacity and service life of the resins. With Lewatit MonoPlus, the critical parameters for plant operators such as reduced wastewater and energy consumption, as well as decreased operating costs resulting from the use of less chemicals. Further, investment costs for new facilities can be reduced by smaller tank geometries and optimized resin volumes. 

LANXESS is one of few suppliers worldwide that can also provide special, chelating ion exchange resins in monodisperse grades for many other water treatment processes. These resins include products from the tried and tested Lewatit MonoPlus TP line, which are used, for example, to remove heavy metals in process water treatment.

Multistep process gaining ground

As the use of reverse osmosis in the primary demineralization stage increases, so too does the demand on the downstream secondary purification process. This is because this technology leads to a higher mineral content in the feed to the secondary demineralization stage. Efficient ion exchange demineralisation methods therefore are required in this so-called “polishing stage”.

The multistep system from LANXESS, used successfully for years now, offers an economical and technical advantage in this application compared to a conventional mixed-bed system. Multistep systems operate much more efficiently than conventional polishing installations because chemical consumption is up to 40 percent lower and regeneration time is shorter. Furthermore, the multistep process can cut wastewater volumes by up to 60 percent. As a further benefit automation of the process steps is easier with this method. However, it is not only the technology, but also the product that is decisive for achieving these advantages. 

Another example, LANXESS markets the gel-type cation exchange resin Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 for the multistep process. This high-performance product can achieve full demineralization in the cation stage, for applications, for instance in the chemical industry, in power plants, and in the automotive industry. 

Thanks to a pioneering investment in membrane filtration technology at the Bitterfeld site totaling EUR 30 million, LANXESS will be capable, according to the current schedule, of offering additional products for water treatment starting in early 2012, thus further expanding its already strong market position. 

For more information on LANXESS ion exchange resins, go to www.lewatit.com.

The ION business unit belongs to LANXESS’ Performance Chemicals segment, which achieved total sales in fiscal 2010 of EUR 1,978 million.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.1 billion in 2010 and currently around 15,500 employees in 30 countries. The company is at present represented at 46 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

Leverkusen, 	May 23, 2011
bol		(2011-00113)

Forward-Looking Statements.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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