Membrane Separation Technology Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Membrane Separation Technology Market Overview

The Membrane Separation Technology market size is estimated to reach US$25.5 billion by 2027 after growing at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Membrane Separation Technology refers to a technology using processes such as nanofiltration & reverse osmosis for cleaning solution by passing it through a membrane having microscopic pores. The membrane used in the process is mainly polymer-based such as polysulfone, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polypropylene and others. The rich properties of membrane separation technology such as durability, permeability, stability and porosity are driving its demand in major industries such as food & beverage, waste-water treatment, medical & pharmaceutical and metallurgical. Furthermore, the major applicability of graphene membranes in gas filtration in the oil & gas sector is influencing the membrane separation technology market growth. Factors such as growth in natural gas production, the establishment of waste-water treatment plants and an increase in steel production have provided growth opportunities to the membrane separation technology industry. However, issues such as membrane fouling and the complex nature of membrane separation related to other processes such as distillation could pose a challenge to market growth and hamper the membrane separation technology market size. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on account of lockdown restrictions negatively impacted the membrane separation technology industry outlook. Closure of various plants and factories in major sectors such as wastewater treatment and food & beverage reduced membrane separation technology market demand.

Report Coverage

The “Membrane Separation Technology Market Report – Forecast (2022-2027)” by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments in the Membrane Separation Technology industry.

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominates the Membrane Separation Technology industry, owing to the growth of the waste-water treatment sector in the region which has accelerated the demand for membrane separation technologies such as nanofiltration & reverse osmosis.
• The growing demand for dairy items especially milk has positively impacted the Membrane Separation Technology industry outlook as technologies such as ultrafiltration are used in the concentration & purification of milk.
• Major issues related to the membrane separation process such as fouling could limit the demand and usage of Membrane Separation Technologies in major end-use industries such as waste-water treatment which can negatively influence the membrane separation technology market size.

Figure: Asia-Pacific Membrane Separation Technology Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Million)

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Membrane Separation Technology Market Segment Analysis – by Technology

The reverse osmosis segment held the largest share in the Membrane Separation Technology market share in 2021 and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Reverse osmosis has superior properties over nanofiltration such as cost-effectiveness, high concentration removal nature and no usage of hazardous chemicals. Furthermore, reverse osmosis has high applicability in the food & beverage and waste-water treatment sector for the treatment of residual liquids, separating suspended solids and obtaining rejected fluids containing a deficient concentration of dissolved solids. The advantageous features and major applicability of reverse osmosis in the food & beverage and waste-water treatment sector have increased its preference over other membrane separation technologies such as nanofiltration. Thus, this will positively impact the reverse osmosis segment growth and would provide growth opportunities during the forecast period.

Membrane Separation Technology Market Segment Analysis – by End-use Industry

Waste-water treatment held the largest share in the Membrane Separation Technology market share in 2021 and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Membrane separation technologies such as reverse osmosis, microfiltration and nanofiltration which uses polysulfone, polyacrylonitrile or polyvinylidene fluoride-based membrane have high demand in the waste-water treatment sector to produce pure drinking water. Growing demand for drinking water coupled with the government’s investments and policies for water treatment has resulted in significant growth in the waste-water treatment sector. For instance, the government of Egypt, in 2021, inaugurated the largest waste-water treatment plant in the world Bahr-Al-Baqar which has a capacity of daily treating 5.6 million cubic meters of wastewater. Furthermore, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment bank, 2021, jointly invested US$20 million in the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in Kosovo. Such growing investments and establishment of waste-water treatment plants have increased the demand and usage of membrane separation technologies, thereby resulting in a positive growth of the membrane separation technology industry in the waste-water treatment sector.

Membrane Separation Technology Market Segment Analysis – by Geography

Asia-Pacific held the largest share in the Membrane Separation Technology market share in 2021 up to 42%. The flourishing demand for membrane separation technologies such as reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration in major sectors such as food & beverage and waste-water treatment is influencing its market growth in the region. The growing demand for dairy products such as milk and the setting up of new water treatment facilities to increase access to drinking water to people has resulted in the rapid growth of the food & beverage and waste-water treatment sectors. For instance, according to statements of the National Dairy Development Board, in April 2022, the board announced the setting up of 12 milk plants in Punjab with a total cost of US$11.7 million. Furthermore, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2020, China installed 39000 new wastewater treatment facilities and invested US$81.6 billion in its municipal wastewater system, new treatment facilities and sludge mitigation showing a massive increase in investment in water treatment in the past five years. The rapid growth in such major end-use industries of membrane separation technology has resulted in the positive growth of the membrane separation technology industry in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Membrane Separation Technology Market Drivers

High Demand for Steel:

Membrane Separation Technology which uses membranes made from polymers such as polysulfone, polyacrylonitrile and polyvinylidene fluoride, has high demand in the metallurgical sector. The flourishing application of membrane separation technology for removing carbon content from multiple vent sources during the production of metals such as steel is influencing its growth. The steel demand has increased significantly over the years resulting in the setting up of more steel plants. According to the statements given by South Korean steel maker Posco, in January 2022, the company started the construction of a steel plant in Northern China with a total cost of US$600 million. Furthermore, the United States Steel Corporation, in February 2022, announced the construction of a technologically advanced steel mill in Osceola with a total valuation of US$3 billion. Setting up such a steel plant will accelerate the demand and usage of membrane separation technologies such as nanofiltration which would result in a positive growth of the membrane separation technology market during the forecast period.

Bolstering Growth in Natural Gas Production:

Membrane Separation Technology such as nanofiltration has high demand in the oil & gas sector where it is used during the processing of natural gas such as coal bed methane. The water in the coal bed makes methane extraction harder and increases the pressure in the reservoir. The usage of nanofiltration lowers such pressure and stimulates the desorption of methane from coal. Growing demand for natural gas for power generation, auto fuel and a source for manufacturing plastic has resulted in the setting up of new production plants. According to the statement by Guangdong Rural Credit Union in the 14th Five-Year (2021-2025) Plan for Energy, the union plans to build natural gas production & storage facility in the Guangdong province of China. Furthermore, the US Government, in 2021, announced the construction of 177 natural gas plants to reduce CO2 emissions by 2030. Setting up of new natural plants will increase the production output of natural gas, thereby increasing the usage of nanofiltration in the oil & gas sector. This will result in a positive growth of the membrane separation technology market during the forecast period.

Membrane Separation Technology Challenge

Complex Nature of Membrane Separation:

Membrane separation in comparison with other processes such as distillation requires high membrane selectivity due to which it cannot be performed easily. Most membrane used in the separation process is polymer based due to which membrane modules cannot function above room temperature as polymer tend to lose their integrities. Furthermore, the accumulation of colloidal particles and soluble macromolecules within membrane pores causes fouling in the membrane separation process. Thus, such complexities in membrane separation could limit the usage of membrane separation technologies such as microfiltration and nanofiltration in major end-use industries such as waste-water treatment, food & beverage and medical & pharmaceutical. This could negatively influence the membrane separation technology market size during the forecast period.

Membrane Separation Technology Industry Outlook

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Membrane Separation Technology market. The top 10 companies in the Membrane Separation Technology Market are:

1. Dow Chemical Company
2. 3M Company
3. GE Water & Process Technologies
4. DuPoint
5. Merck Millpore
6. Asahi Kasei Corporation
7. SUEZ
8. Danaher Corporation
9. Koch Membrane System Inc.
10. AXEON Water Technologies

Recent Developments

• In January 2021, SUEZ purchased the reverse osmosis product line of specialty chemical company LANXESS and with this acquisition, SUEZ has added one more RO membrane technology to its Water Technologies & Solutions division.
• In July 2021, NX Filtration, a specialist in innovative hollow fiber membrane solutions, signed the purchase of buying land for its nanofiltration membrane production facility in Hengelo, The Netherlands.
• In January 2020, DuPont acquired Desalitech, inge GmbH, Memcor and OxyMem Limited and such acquisition adds to the company’s portfolio of water purification technologies including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ion exchange resins.

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