Ashland looks for water technology growth

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Ashland Inc., known as an oil refining and petrochemical company, is expanding into water technologies.

The company's Columbus, Ohio-based chemical sector owns promising water technologies that have become Ashland's top expansion priority, company Chief Executive Officer Jim O'Brien said.

He said getting water for drinking, for heating and cooling, and for industrial uses, is a growing part of the world economy, the Cincinnati Post reported Friday. Fresh water is a scarce commodity, especially in emerging economies such as China.

"What we're focused on is making sure that we can participate in the cleansing of that water, sanitizing that water and getting as much of it as possible for human use. China has a tremendous need for technology to help clean up their water. That's probably their scarcest commodity," O'Brien said.