Published August 2003
Ion exchange resins have many applications in water treatment, wastewater treatment boiler feed/condensate treatment, sugar refining, pharmaceuticals & biotechnology, and in chemical processes as catalysts. However, despite the broad range of uses, the market for ion exchange markets is small just over $600 million globally. The market is mature: in the developed world, ion exchange resins appear to have fully penetrated the market for their applications. Manufacturing technology developments in the past 25 years in large, commercial-scale ion exchange resins have included:
- Development of monodispersate resins
- Development of resin beads with a core/shell morphology for greater durability
- A transition away from chlorinated swelling agents to non-chlorinated swelling agents
Aside from these developments, innovation in manufacturing processes for the ion exchange resin market has been limited. In certain markets, such as pharmaceuticals or water/wastewater, there may be regulatory or industry-specific cultural barriers to process innovation. Further, technologies such as reverse osmosis and CEDI are replacing ion exchange, wholly or partly, in certain water purification applications. Drivers for success in this market appear to be less innovation in resin manufacturing, but rather price, distribution, having an established relationship with the customer (both system builders and end-users), and quality of the product. Cost advantages appear to be less a function of process technology, but more a function of scale and the ability to balance capacity and sales. Consolidation of producers in the late 1990s led to rationalization of obsolete or sub-scale manufacturing plants, and the emergence of five major resin manufacturers; Rohm & Haas, Dow Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical, Bayer Sybron and Purolite. The report analyzes the production technology and manufacturing costs of the following ion exchange resins:
- Poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) based Strongly Acidic Cationic Resins
- Poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) based Strongly Basic Anionic Resins (Type 1 and Type 2)
- Poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) based Weakly Basic Anionic Resins
This report will be of interest to managers working producers and consumers of ion exchange resins, companies considering entering the ion exchange market, researchers in the ion exchange field, and analysts of the companies that are active in ion exchange or in competing technologies.
