Lanxess starts wastewater treatment unit at rubber chemicals plant

Cologne, Germany – Lanxess AG has commissioned a new wastewater treatment plant at its Belgium Kallo/Antwerp site, where it manufactures rubber chemicals and glass fibre.

The €12-million plant has the capacity to treat around 260,000 litres of wastewater per hour, said Lanxess in a statement 8 Sept.

The German speciality chemicals company said it “thoroughly modernised and expanded” the existing water treatment plant to comply with the stricter environmental legislation.

The technology employed at the unit uses bacteria that process and purify the wastewater.

The different wastewater streams are mixed and end up in aeration towers. The water is then fed with activated sludge, in which the bacteria reside.

Lanxess said it “constantly monitors” the environment of the plant to ensure balanced acidity and the right temperature.

The bacteria are finally separated and returned to the purification process, while the purified water is fed into the Scheldt river.

“The renewal and improvement of the wastewater treatment plant enables us to meet the highest environmental standards,” said Anno Borkowsky, board member of Lanxess.