MANNHEIM, Germany, Dec. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With a mission to make pristine-quality drinking water more accessible and affordable for consumers worldwide, instrAction GmbH today unveiled its purification technology solution for homes and businesses. The company shifted focus recently and is now applying its library of 4500+ proprietary resins and rich chromatography expertise to disrupt the business of water purification. With this goal, the company is launching a filtration solution with a ground-breaking promise: In a single filtration step, the technique removes contaminants like bacteria and special micro pollutants, preserves healthy elements like calcium and magnesium, and simultaneously removes toxins like zinc and chromium. It’s a one-step “no compromises” filtration approach that shields against contaminants to deliver purest-quality drinking water at point of use. The resins can be re-used hundreds of times, which drives up yield and reduces overall costs.
In its first commercial deployment, the technology will be used in refrigerators and water dispensers. Pilot testing is underway and the company expects to begin commercialization for OEM applications in the first half of next year. Future applications include industrial uses like waste water treatment, where the technology will be applied to remove harmful contaminants while also recovering precious metals for re-use.
The instrAction solution debuts at a time of rising demand for healthy drinking water worldwide. The total global market for residential water purifiers* will reach US$32.6 billion by 2023, and will grow at a CAGR of 16 percent between now and 2020. The market for membrane filtration solutions** will reach $17.3 billion by 2023. Growth will be strongest in the Asia-Pacific region, due to rapid industrialization and increased use of filtration technologies in water processing plants. Also driving demand is the shift toward healthier lifestyles, with water purifiers now a consumer expectation for homes and businesses.
The quality of drinking water has vastly improved in recent decades thanks to filtration and purification techniques that are available in portable products or embedded in drinking water purifiers, as well as refrigerators. The techniques, however, come with certain limitations that preclude them from offering a “complete solution” capable of eliminating toxic metals and bacteria in a single filtration step.
instrAction stepped in to compensate for the limitations by innovating the industry’s first and only resins that can remove toxic metals and bacteria in one filtration step. With its extensive library of absorption resins developed over 20 years and protected by 18 international patent families, as well as its chromatography expertise and synthesis know-how, the company is well positioned for leadership.
The instrAction filtration method works like this: Unfiltered water flows through a cartridge filled with the instrAction resins. Toxic heavy metals and harmful bacteria are retained within the porous particles of the resin and thus removed from the filtrate. Healthy elements like calcium and magnesium are untouched by the selective instrAction resins. The highly refined selectivity capability is enabled by the multimodal binding principal that dictates when two or more different molecular interactions occur at the same time leading to a distinction between desired and undesired compounds, the first are untouched, while the latter are bound tightly to the absorber resin.
The company’s resins are offered to customers as packed columns or bulk material. They are available in unlimited variations in solid support, polymer coating and ligand types, combinations and densities. instrAction’s CSO, Martin Welter, PhD, characterized the technology as a “tool box”, noting its unmatched flexibility to address unique requirements and solve problems beyond the reach of traditional filtration techniques. “Our skilled development team can fulfill customers’ application-specific needs in customized offerings, sometimes by modifying resins, other times by adjusting application parameters,” he said.
instrAction’s solutions will be produced in Suzhou, China, where the company recently partnered with a leading resin manufacturer to secure an early foothold in this fast-growing market.
“Highest-quality drinking water is not just a health imperative, it’s a human right and we’re excited to apply our technology and expertise to support that imperative,” said CEO Juergen Hoelscher. “Our filtration solution represents the industry’s most comprehensive barrier against harmful contaminants without sacrificing healthy elements found in most drinking water supplies. This makes it a compelling purification option for consumers in high-population cities and regions with aging water pipe networks. In addition, with its high-yield/low-cost advantages, the solution promises to deliver unique value to regions undergoing rapid industrialization.”
_____________________
* TechSci Research
** MarketsandMarkets
About instrAction, GmbH
instrAction is an emerging innovation leader in the global water purification industry. Leveraging its extensive library of absorption resins and chromatography expertise, the company has pioneered a new class of filtration solution for drinking water that removes contaminants like bacteria, preserves healthy elements, and eliminates toxins in a single filtration step. Headquartered in Mannheim, Germany with manufacturing operations in Suzhou, China, the company is privately owned and supported by a leading German venture capital firm. www.instraction.com.
instrAction Contact
Juergen Hoelscher; Chief Executive Officer; email: juergen.hoelscher@instraction.de