Background Information. LANXESS technology for clean water

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1 LANXESS technology for clean water Specialty Chemicals Group filters pollutants from water with ion exchange resins and iron oxides LANXESS rubber protects against limescale deposits and seals pipes and machines Leverkusen Around one billion people do not have any access to clean drinking water, according to s Federal Foreign Office. Each year, approximately three million people die from the effects of contaminated water, including some 4,500 children every day and the situation is set to worsen further. A growing world population, environmental pollution, climate change and wells that are drying up will make this precious resource as valuable as oil in the next few decades. Page 1 of 5 and its products are helping to solve this problem, with its state-of-the-art facilities and optimized processes also ensuring more efficient use of water. LANXESS products are used all over the world to treat drinking water. A particularly important role is played by ion exchange resins and arsenic adsorbers under the product names Lewatit and Bayoxide. These products remove pollutants from water and other liquids. The invisible threat Arsenic pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of drinking water contamination. Some very high concentrations of arsenic occur in the groundwater in many regions of the United States, South America and Asia. Excessive arsenic levels are often found in Europe, too, for example in the United Kingdom. Bayoxide E33 and Lewatit FO 36 from LANXESS are specially designed to remove arsenic from drinking water and wastewater. The core of the Bayoxide system is a solid bed of iron oxide beads. These beads have finely structured surfaces that absorb pollutants when contaminated water flows over them. In Bangladesh, for example,

2 LANXESS is helping to filter arsenic from water with mobile filter systems for domestic use. It is not unusual for measurements containing several milligrams of arsenic per liter to be recorded. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that water should contain no more than 10 micrograms. That is why LANXESS joined forces with students from the University of Cottbus,, in 2006 to start a water purification project in Bangladesh in a village south of Dhaka. The specially developed filter systems are easy to use, do not require any maintenance, and clean the water quickly and economically. Page 2 of 5 Ion exchange resins help remove undesirable substances Another technology for treating water is the use of ion exchange resins and specialty adsorber resins such as Lewatit. Among other things, ion exchange resins are used to remove pollutants such as nickel, nitrate or certain hydrocarbons from drinking water. During the ion exchange process, contaminated water flows through a container filled with ion exchange resin. This filters the contaminants, holding onto the ions of the pollutants and replacing them with harmless ions. Industrial applications include treatment of water for industrial processes in power plants. The microchip and pharmaceutical industries require water in an extremely pure form. Lewatit is used in these industries to produce ultra-pure water, which is a vital manufacturing resource. Yet ion exchange resins have also become an indispensable part of the house and home. One example is the use of ion exchange resins in dishwashers, where they are used to soften water to prevent limescale deposits on glasses and dishes. And they play a key role in the food industry, as they make sugar white and sweet, for instance. The resins ensure that brown raw sugar turns into the beloved white product and that sugar also tastes of sugar. Specially developed Lewatit grades desalinate the raw solution and remove the yellow-brown substance that gives raw sugar its color.

3 Seals without harmful plasticizers Rubber is virtually indispensable for transferring liquids flexibly from one location to another or for sealing moving parts in machines. Washing machines are a good example door seals made from untreated natural rubber would become permeable after just a few washes, as detergents and hot water do not suit the material very well. Heat- and soap-resistant ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, or EPDM for short, manufactured by specialty chemicals group LANXESS at its Marl site, is now used for this application. Page 3 of 5 Special-purpose rubber raw materials from the world s leading manufacturer of synthetic rubbers are also in demand for drinking water. Conventional, basic rubber seals are generally made from a whole variety of elements, including plasticizers, which may be washed out over time by water. This results in the weakened material becoming brittle over time a leak occurs and the seal needs to be replaced. However, plasticizers are problematic in drinking water seals for an entirely different reason, as they are used as food by some bacteria and these can form a film on the inside of the pipe which constitutes a health hazard. However, special-purpose rubbers such as LCB-EPDM from LANXESS can also be processed into elastic rubber seals without using plasticizers. Another advantage is that they do not become too soft even at higher water temperatures and therefore generally remain more watertight. Rubber is also needed in other domestic appliances that operate using water. For example, seals made of Therban, a highperformance rubber from LANXESS, are as reliable and age-resistant as those made from EPDM but also withstand particularly high pressures and heat, making them ideal for use in espresso machines. Robust enough for wastewater treatment plants Rubbers are also used in treating wastewater. For example, in sedimentation tanks, the air necessary for the biological treatment

4 stage is frequently blown into the tanks through EPDM membranes, as their flexible pores do not become blocked so quickly by the pollutant load in the wastewater. Biodegradable detergent thanks to LANXESS LANXESS also provides innovative solutions for softening water in washing machines and dishwashers. Dispersing and complexing agents are virtually everywhere we look nowadays. Wherever water is used in the home or in industry additives such as these are required to enable water to be used more efficiently. Baypure envelops the calcium and magnesium ions dissolved in water, which can cause limescale deposits, and keeps them suspended. Baypure DS 100 prevents limescale deposits and even softens existing scale. Applications include dissolving stubborn furring in drainage pipes, assisting oil extraction and preventing grayness in detergents. And as Baypure is biodegradable, it also protects the environment. Page 4 of 5 LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently about 14,600 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. Leverkusen, January 21, 2010 fgr Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

5 Information for editors: All LANXESS news releases and their accompanying photos can be found at Recent photos of the Board of Management and other LANXESS image material are available at The latest TV footage, audiofiles and podcasts can be found at You can find further information concerning LANXESS chemistry in our WebMagazine at Page 5 of 5