Innovative Contribution to Industrial Water Treatment

Specialty chemicals group Lanxess has developed a new generation of high-performance gel-type cation exchange resins for industrial water treatment. Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 and Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 H are the result of several years of research work, and are noted above all for an excellent leaching behavior and outstanding chemical stability.

Alexander Scheffler, who is head of Industrial Water Treatment within the Ion Exchange Resins business unit, commented:

The new ion exchange resin grades are an innovation which will help to further strengthen our strong position in the global ion exchange resin business.

Lanxess will produce Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 and Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 H on an industrial scale in Bitterfeld from April 2010. Monodisperse ion exchange resins for the global market have been produced at this site for 10 years now.

In industrial water treatment, cation exchangers are used in combination with downstream anion exchangers for full demineralization in many applications in the chemical industry, power plants and the automotive industry, for example. The ion exchange resins isolate the salt components dissolved in the water. Functional groups applied to the polymer beads remove the anions or cations of the salt from the liquid and replace them with water molecules.

Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 and Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 H have optimized leaching behavior, which is an important quality characteristic in terms of the effectiveness and commercial efficiency of an ion exchange unit. The lower the resin’s tendency to “self-leaching”, the less total organic carbon (TOC) is released. This release of organic substances is undesirable because it leads to blocking of the anion exchanger, impairing the operating conditions of the unit. The result is a reduction in the quality of the water produced.

Furthermore Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 and Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 H are also noted for the fact that the resin beads remain in excellent condition even after many operating cycles. Even with short cycle times – i.e. with frequent changes between regeneration and exhaustion – the special monodisperse ion exchange matrix ensures long service life. Because of the high chemical and physical stability of the new resins, there is a significantly lower risk of operating problems with the unit due to fines.

The new Lanxess premium products are an improvement of the well established grade, Lewatit Monoplus S 100. The high operating capacities with very low leakage and low regenerant requirement increase the adsorption power of Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 and Lewatit MonoPlus S 108 H. Due to the improved functionality of this resin the economic efficiency increases significantly.

The new ion exchange resins are suitable not only for use in a series arrangement of exchange units, they are also ideal for mixed beds. Because of their dark color and monodisperse bead distribution, the new cation exchange resins enable an excellent separation from anion exchange resins. This is a vital precondition to ensure an efficient and fault-free regeneration.

The Ion Exchange Resins business unit belongs to the Performance Chemicals segment, which achieved total sales in fiscal 2008 of EUR 1,930 million. Further information on Lewatit ion exchange resins can be found at http://www.lewatit.com.

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