July 24–Watertown, MA– Ionics, Inc., a manufacturer of separations technology, has acquired the business and assets, including patents and know-how, of the EnChem wastewater treatment process of Sunnyvale, CA-based Microbar Inc., a chemical management systems maker.

A primary application for the EnChem process is in the removal of dissolved and suspended contaminants from various semiconductor-manufacturing process waste streams in order to meet the microelectronics industry’s current and anticipated regulatory requirements for wastewater discharge.

The EnChem process incorporates patented-technology, which has been evaluated and installed at several fabs for the treatment of silica and alumina CMP, copper CMP, fluoride, arsenic and other heavy metals. The EnChem technology requires minimal facility footprint and Ionics believes that it provides semiconductor clients with lower total cost-of-ownership than traditional methods of wastewater treatment and disposal.

“In today’s technologically complex and rapidly changing semiconductor market, clients are looking for a single source solution not only for fab-wide ultrapure water supply but also for wastewater treatment and water reclamation that reduces water consumption and operating costs,” says Arthur L. Goldstein, Ionics’ chairman and chief executive. “The EnChem wastewater treatment technology will allow Ionics to more effectively meet our clients’ total water management needs, as well as their environmental goals. This waste treatment technology is an excellent addition to Ionics’ unique “Toolbox” of technologies for water purification, treatment and recovery.”