S. Korean nuke power plants to use domestic product for water quality management

SEOUL -- Through the localization of key technologies, Samyang, a chemical and foodstuff company in South Korea, beat foreign competitors to win a meaningful deal for the supply of ion-exchange resins, which are used for water quality management at South Korean nuclear power plants.

Samyang was selected by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the state-run operator of nuclear power plants, to supply some 700,000 liters of ion exchange resins for three years. So far, foreign ion exchange resins have been used for water quality management at KHNP's nuclear power plants.

An ion-exchange resin is an insoluble matrix normally in the form of small microbeads fabricated from an organic polymer substrate. Ion-exchange resins are widely used in different separation, purification, and decontamination processes. The most common examples are water softening and water purification.

Samyang hailed the deal with KHNP as proof of its technological excellence and price competitiveness. Under their agreement, they would push for overseas exports through a coalition of domestic companies involved in the export of nuclear power plants.

KHNP has stepped up efforts to diversify its portfolio and participate in renewable energy projects at home and abroad since President Moon Jae-in vowed to increase the share of renewable energy up to 20 percent of the country's total electricity output by 2030. Moon's campaign to replace fossil-fueled power plants with clean and renewable energy has undermined KHNP's performance.