During the celebration of the five-year anniversary of the Lewabrane membrane-elements plant operated by IAB Ionenaustauscher GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of specialty chemicals company Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com), LANXESS also announced plans to double production capacity in the coming year. The specialty chemicals company has invested a total of €40 million in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany site in the last five years alone. In addition to the membrane elements plant, LANXESS also operates the world’s largest ion exchange resin plant in Bitterfeld.
The market for RO membrane elements is currently projected to grow at an above-average rate of 10% annually in coming years. Because the plant is already operating at almost the limit of its capacity, LANXESS has decided to double the corresponding capacity at the Bitterfeld site. The additional capacity is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2017.