Water Year 2010 for Lanxess

"At Lanxess, we have named 2010 the Water Year – and this day is one of the highlights," says Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Lanxess AG. "World Water Day gives us an opportunity to reaffirm the need to adopt a responsible attitude in dealing with a resource that is crucial to our very existence."

The company is aiming to draw attention to the world’s water issues by launching activities at its sites around the globe. Projects in Germany will include school children from North Rhine-Westphalia working together from 22nd tot 24rd March to develop concepts based on the EU water guidelines as part of the Lanxess education initiative. The company is also planning to run further school projects in South Africa, India and the United States during the year to help school children develop solutions for local water issues.

In India, representatives from business and politics will come together at a water symposium to discuss ways of tackling water pollution in the country. At other sites in China, South Africa and the United States, LANXESS will initiate talks to discuss local water problems and devise much-needed solutions. The company will pool the results in a single global document.

The positive experience of the "Water Purification in Bangladesh" project launched in 2006 with students from the University of Cottbus has inspired LANXESS to work with young people to develop solutions. This project is devoted to filtering arsenic out of drinking water. Some very high concentrations of arsenic occur in the groundwater in many regions of Asia, but also in the United States and South America. Arsenic pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of drinking water contamination. In these regions, it is not unusual for measurements of several milligrams of arsenic per liter to be recorded. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that water should contain no more than 10 micrograms, a concentration one thousand times weaker. Now in operation in Bangladesh, mobile filter systems filled with iron oxide Bayoxide E33 from Lanxess are easy to use and purify the water quickly and cost-effectively.

In Africa, too, people are reliant on support to ensure they have access to drinking water. In 2008, Lanxess and the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) launched a joint project with the aim of cutting the high disease and mortality rate in Tanzania resulting from unclean water and inadequate hygiene. Through a combination of financial support and LANXESS expertise, 25 schools are being equipped with rainwater treatment systems and sanitary facilities. Once the project is completed, around 10,000 children will benefit from access to clean water and hygienic sanitation.

Dripping taps in many industrialized countries lead to the loss of more drinking water than some regions of the world have available to supply the entire local population. When it comes to transferring liquids flexibly from one location to another or sealing moving parts in machines, rubber is virtually indispensable. As one of the world's leading manufacturers of synthetic rubber, the products supplied by Lanxess include Buna EP for elastic rubber seals in dishwashers and EPDM membranes used during biological treatment stages in water treatment plants, and heat-, pressure- and chemical-resistant high-performance seals made of Therban for household appliances and industrial applications.

Lanxess also provides innovative water softening solutions. Wherever water is required – in industry or in the home – dispersing and complexing agents are needed to ensure it can be used more efficiently. Biodegradable products from the Baypure range prevent the build-up of limescale in washing machines and dishwashers, dissolve stubborn furring in drainage pipes and assist in oil extraction.

For LANXESS, conserving natural resources through the most efficient possible use of raw materials and energies, and achieving cuts in emissions and waste is an ongoing mission. That mission is part of its global corporate commitment to mankind and the environment. "Our know-how and our products are helping to purify water, save water and ensure this essential resource is used more responsibly worldwide," says Heitmann. Examples that support this claim can be found in all corners of the globe, including Porto Feliz in Brazil, Jinshan in China, La Wantzenau in France and Nagda in India.

Iron oxide production in Porto Feliz, for example, now consumes up to 50 percent less water than just a few years ago. In La Wantzenau, the company started to take wastewater treatment technology to a new level back in 2006. At its site in Nagda, Indiam, Lanxerss collects wastewater from the surrounding area in order to clean it and use it as process water.