Koch Membrane Systems Receives NSF Certification For New RO & NF Product Lines

Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. (KMS) has announced that it has received NSF International certification for its new reverse osmosis and nanofiltration element construction operation located in Wilmington, Mass. NSF International, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, is the world leader in standards development, product certification, education, and risk-management for public health and safety.

This certification allows KMS to commence shipments of elements rolled at its expanded Wilmington facility to customers in the near future.

The company’s rolling operation is just a small part of a new state-of-the-art production line designed to take advantage of several recent advances in membrane technology developed by KMS researchers.  The system’s fully automated membrane caster and coater will produce the current FLUID SYSTEMS® family of high rejection brackish and seawater membranes, KMS’ selective rejection line of softening and color removal nanofiltration products and KMS’ dairy RO and NF products.  The equipment will be used to produce membranes and finished rolled elements across the broad array of sizes offered by KMS, including the company’s line of high area, large diameter MegaMagnum® products.  The MegaMagnum element offer membrane areas of up to 5.5 times those of standard 8-inch diameter by 40-inch long elements.

The entire membrane production line is expected to be in full operation shortly and will more than double KMS’ current RO and NF production capacity.  In addition, the line will produce membranes with more consistent, high level performance, tighter specification ranges, and most importantly, the ability to produce the next generation of the highest quality membranes and elements.  It is expected that more than 100 new positions will be created at the Massachusetts facility once the line is at full production.

About Koch Membrane Systems
Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. is a global leader in membrane filtration technology and engineering support for close to half a century.  KMS offers a wide range of products and engineering services which span industrial applications in food and life sciences, industrial processes and water & wastewater. As a designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art membrane elements as well as complete membrane systems, KMS products are specified for some of the most demanding applications. KMS offers comprehensive process engineering design, piloting and field service expertise. With an install base approaching 20,000 systems throughout the world, KMS is setting the standard as a comprehensive solutions provider for membrane technology. Based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Koch Membrane Systems is a Koch Chemical Technology Group, LLC company.

LANXESS India Receives Award For Water Resource Management From Indian Chemical Council

The Indian Chemical Council honored specialty chemicals company LANXESS India Private Limited with the ‘Water Resource Management’ Award. The award paid tribute to LANXESS’ production site in Nagda for its innovative approach to recycling domestic sewage water and harnessing it for industrial use. Neelanjan Banerjee, Director of LANXESS India, accepted the recognition from the Honorable Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Srikant Jena at the ICC Awards, which was held in Mumbai last evening.

The award was given for setting up a treatment plant for domestic sewage water with recycle based on biological treatment with subsequent post-treatment by Reverse Osmosis Technology (RO). RO is effective in eliminating or substantially reducing a very wide array of contaminants and allows the removal of species as small as individual ions. RO is usually applied in addition to traditional effluent treatment for industrial effluents. Following such treatment the domestic sewage water from the township where the employee’s of Grasim SFD, Chemical Division and LIPL reside is now actually being put to use.

On this occasion Mr. Banerjee said, “We at LANXESS are honored to receive this award. In a city like Nagda where water is in short supply, the utilization of sewage water is a boon. We are glad to be contributing toward saving water of Chambal River that is so precious a commodity for Nagda”.

LANXESS’ production site in Nagda is situated at the bank of Chambal River. In May and June, the river becomes parched due dry weather as well as heavy consumption of water for industrial purposes and irrigational use by the villagers.

Today, at the Nagda plant domestic sewage water is treated to remove its organic fouling and sediments to make it useful as make-up water for Cooling Towers. A part of the treated water is further purified through RO and mixed bed resins to meet the requirement of Boiler feed water for steam generation in a CoGen plant. Multiple usage of the sewage water contributes significantly to the overall water balance and helps to keep the plant running through the dry months of May and June.

These initiatives underline LANXESS’ commitment to green chemistry. The systems and processes are not only crucial for the sustainability and long-term growth of the chemical industry in Nagda, but also benefit the local community.

Dr. Joerg Strassburger, Managing Director and Country Representative of LANXESS India, says, “LANXESS dedicates efforts to green the environment at our sites around the globe. Addressing the water scarcity issue in Nagda is a good example of corporate responsibility that makes a difference.”

About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently 14,335 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 46 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.