SEPT 11.–TAOYUAN, Taiwan– Ionics Inc., a manufacturer of membranes, equipment and services for the purification, disinfection, concentration and analysis of water, wastewater and ultrapure water, has expanded by opening a resin regeneration facility here.

Officiating at the opening were Arthur L. Goldstein, Ionics’ chairman and chief executive officer; William J. McMahon, vice president of Ionics’ Ultrapure Water Group; Tom Heredia, head of Ionics’ Worldwide Services Business; and David L. C. Chen, resident of Ionics Taiwan.

The Taiwan service facility will further expand resin regeneration capabilities. Resin regeneration is a necessary step in providing he ultrapure level of water quality required for semiconductor, thin film transistor liquid crystal panel display, pharmaceutical, power and other applications.

Resin regeneration involves the chemical restoration of cation and anion resins using a unique process. Use of off-site resin regeneration of primary mixed bed ion exchange resin eliminates the need to use caustic and acid regenerating chemicals at customers’ facilities.

By reducing the need for on-site resin regeneration, the amount of wastewater generated at customers’ plants is also reduced. A special feature of Ionics’ new resin regeneration plant in Taiwan is that it provides for the complete restoration of high purity polishing resins, eliminating the need for costly replacement and disposal. Ionics’ facility is the only such resin regeneration plant in Taiwan that provides this unique service. The facility occupies 3300 square meters and has an initial resin regeneration capacity of 7.5 cubic meters per day. Ionics established operations in Taiwan in 1999.

“Ionics has more than 30 years of resin regenerating experience for the most demanding high-purity water customers,”Goldstein says. “We are very pleased that through investments in service facilities such as this, Ionics will be able to support our clients’ requirements for ultrapure water around the globe.”