manufactured · input

Ion exchange resins (cation and anion)

Sulfonated polystyrene-DVB cation resins for water softening and some drinking water treatment; anion resins for nitrate/PFAS removal; Dow Water & Process Solutions (DowDuPont), Lanxess (Lewatit), and Purolite are primary suppliers; experienced COVID supply shortages

12

Source countries

5

Companies

1

Goods affected

0

Claims on record

What depends on it

Goods that need this input

1 essential American goods rely on ion exchange resins (cation and anion) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.

Where it comes from

Source countries

Share of global supply, by country.

Who makes it

Supplier companies

5 companies produce ion exchange resins (cation and anion).

Sunresin New Materials Co., Ltd.(300487.SZ)

HQ CN12% share

Fast-growing Chinese ion-exchange/adsorbent resin maker (Seplite); water treatment, pharma, metallurgy and direct-lithium-extraction (DLE) sorbents.

DuPont Water Solutions (FilmTec)

HQ US

Leading global RO membrane maker; patented FilmTec TFC technology; services 10,000+ desalination/water reuse plants in 100+ countries

Lanxess AG

HQ DE

Specialty chemicals major; significant Western producer of phosphorus trichloride (PCl3) and other phosphorus-based chemicals.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group

HQ JP

Japanese chemical conglomerate (TSE: 4188); carbon fiber and composites through Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and Composites (MCCFC). US facility: Sacramento, CA (formerly Grafil, since 1984; merged with Newport Composites 2013); also Evanston, WY. Japan: Aichi prefecture (December 2025 expansion doubling Aichi + Sacramento CF capacity). Key fiber: MR70 (ultra-high strength, 12P sizing, aerospace grade) and Pyrofil standard-modulus line. Expanding for sport, aerospace, and hypercar segments. Also has carbon fiber in Japan for space program applications. Mitsubishi Chemical is also one of the world's largest producers of acrylic acid/esters (precursors to specialty coatings) and methanol derivatives — a petrochemical giant that also makes space-grade carbon fiber from the same corporate umbrella as commodity chemicals.

Purolite (Ecolab Life Sciences)

HQ US

Purolite Corporation (Philadelphia PA; acquired by Ecolab Inc. NYSE: ECL for $3.7B in 2021; now Ecolab Life Sciences division) manufactures Praesto Protein A affinity resins — synthetic polymer bead-based Protein A resins designed for cost-competitive mAb purification. Purolite's Praesto AP (agarose-based) and Praesto Jetted A50 (synthetic polymer) resins offer manufacturers an alternative to Cytiva and Merck KGaA products. Purolite has manufacturing in Wales (Pontyclun UK) and Bucks County Pennsylvania. Ecolab's acquisition of Purolite for $3.7B signaled that industrial water treatment companies (Ecolab's core business) view bioprocess consumables as an adjacency to their hygiene and process chemistry businesses. Ecolab/Purolite competes with Cytiva and Merck KGaA in Protein A resins while Ecolab's water treatment division simultaneously serves the same biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities for their utility water systems — a vertically adjacent position across multiple biomanufacturing consumable categories.