Indian Ion Exchange Resins Plant

The opening marked the successful completion of the second expansion phase in Jhagadia. The first project phase, which was completed in March of this year, saw a rubber chemicals production plant taken into operation. Overall, LANXESS has invested around EUR 50 million in the site to date.

"Demand for clean water is set to increase by around one-third worldwide by 2030. In Asia, and in India especially, demand will grow disproportionately due to rapid population growth and increasing urbanization," said Chairman of the LANXESS Board of Management Axel C. Heitmann at the official opening ceremony, which was also attended by the State Premier of the Indian state of Gujarat. "Production has therefore started at exactly the right time to benefit from this development."

The new plant was constructed on an area totalling 30,000 square metres by 1,800 workers. The wastewater is pre-cleaned in a separate wastewater treatment plant by LANXESS before it is released into the chemical park's wastewater system. Huge amounts have been invested in environmentally friendly energy generation. LANXESS uses a cogeneration plant for the company's own power station. This is run on natural gas. "We are also setting new benchmarks for sustainable production," said Heitmann. "In total, around 20 percent of total construction costs were used for sustainability projects."

The high-tech resins produced at the new plant are used in the fields of water treatment in power generation, microelectronics and the drinking water and food preparation industries. The broad range of applications for these small beads of resin includes, for example, the decalcification or desalination of water in dishwashers and the decarbonization or extraction of heavy metals from drinking water in water filters. In addition to Jhagadia, LANXESS also produces Lewatit ion exchange resins at sites in both Bitterfeld and Leverkusen (Germany).

"India has become our second strongest growth market in Asia and we will therefore continue to drive forward expansion in this country in the next five years," said Heitmann. According to forecasts, automobile manufacturing alone is set to rise by almost one-fifth in 2010 and by around 7% in the years up to 2015. The electrical and electronics industries on the subcontinent are expected to expand by around 10% in the medium term. Overall growth of around 8% is forecast for the Indian economy over the medium term.

The next stage of expansion for Jhagadia is planned for 2012. From then on, high-tech plastics from the Semi-Crystalline Products business unit (SCP) will be produced at a capacity of 20,000 metric tons per year. The Ion Exchange Resins and Rubber Chemicals business units are part of the Performance Chemicals segment, which generated sales of EUR 1,530 million in 2009.

Source: Water Online