Activated Alumina Market Driven by Water Treatment Applications

Activated alumina has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Small System Compliance Technology (SSCT) for uranium, and can remove up to 99 percent of the contaminant, depending on pH and concentrations of competing ions. It is also effective at removing other ions such as arsenate, fluoride, sulfate, and selenate. Activated alumina is produced by the means of dehydroxylating aluminum hydroxide in a way that produces a highly porous material, and the demand for the product is expected to be driven primarily by the end-use industries in Asia Pacific region. Over the course of the forecast period of 2018 to 2023, IndustryARC report projects profitable progression in the activated alumina market.

Based on the physical appearance, the activated alumina market can be segmented into powdered form and beaded form, whereas on the basis of application, the market can be bifurcated into adsorbent, medical applications, filtering substance, catalyst support, drying agent, and vacuum systems. 

Geographically, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the global demand during the forecast period, followed by North America. Furthermore, Europe constitutes a substantial share in the global activated alumina market currently, which is a reflection of legislation that is mandatory for all quarries to have water recycling facilities. Additionally, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive aspires to protect the aquatic ecosystem and consequently, it is emerging as a vital driver for the growth of the global activated alumina market.

Garg Chemical Company (India) is one of the prominent company in the activated alumina market, offering products such as white silica gel, mixed silica, and activated carbon. Bee Chems (India) is another firm which explains that 5-8 bead alumina is used as a pre-bed material to support large desiccant beds and as a pre-buffer for silica gel beds in desiccant air dryers. The other products supplied by this firm are nano silica binders and lithium hybrids.

Commercial grade activated alumina acts as an adsorbent for the removal of alkalinity of the water. Additionally, this compound displays beneficial properties like adsorption and it also acts as a desiccant. As the demand for clean water surges across underdeveloped countries, along with growing industrial and medical applications, the market for activated alumina is expected to remain in good stead in the near future.