According to a study the water treatment industry will rise with the average growth rate of over 6% till 2009. In terms of us dollars the global demand of water treatment equipments will touch the mark of $35 billion. The highest growth is expected in China with average annual growth rate of 17%. Other developing nations like India, Brazil, South-East Asia and Middle East will also see similar growth rate.
In this section we will discuss the market situation in the following countries:
- Water Treatment Market Overview Europe
- China Water Treatment Market
- Water Treatment Market Overview India
The major water treatment system that has dominated the European market is membrane separation system. The membrane separation market is slowly consolidating itself in Eastern Europe market also.
As per latest study the industrial process water treatment equipment European market was around $761 million in 2004. In this market membrane separation was clearly a leader accounting for half of the market. The demand for clear water led this market to grow in double-digit compound annual growth rate.
The industries can choose the appropriate membrane treatment methods for treating wastewater. However the most popular membrane separation system that is popularly used in the industries is Reverse Osmosis membrane separation system. The major industries that utilizes this system are electronic industry, food processing industry and pharmaceutical grade water.
Ultra filtration is also gaining ground as they are increasingly used in growing sectors like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology for processing ultra pure water. Ultra filtration system constitutes nearly 30% of the market. Microfiltration systems are demanded mainly in food and beverage and pharmaceutical industry. Microfiltration constituted the 10% of the market and their growth depends on the demand by industries like pharmaceuticals, food and beverages etc.
China Water Treatment Market
China is facing acute shortage of water. According to the survey it is among the 13 thirstiest country of the world. Nearly 300 million of its citizen do not have adequate access to the water. There are many citizens who consume water which is not pure and healthy. Keeping this in mind China has decided to invest US$ 87 billion in environmental protection programs focusing on environmental issues including water. Currently Chinas water treatment industry is ¥17.6 billion
Meanwhile nearly 350 companies are operating in China for water treatment and other issues. This number is expected to grow further to 6000 by 2010. Thus, Chinese environmental and water industry is emerging and offers good prospects for business.
It is expected that till 2010 China's water treatment demand will grow by 14 percent annually. The key drivers of the industry will be
- Rapid economic growth
- Historical neglect will prompt more investment
- Quest for better water management
- Governments policy
- Regulations
The water market of India is more than $1 billion of the total water market water treatment market share is over $600million. The growing concern for treating municipal wastewater and Industrial wastewater has led this industry to grow. In India water market is growing very fast with an average annual growth rate of 15-20 percent per annum. The growth can be attributed to various factors.
- Indian cities generate nearly 20 million m3 /day of sewage but only one-tenth of the waste is treated.
- The rapid industrialization has increased the water demand in various industries.
- Water requirements of major water-consuming industries has grown 40 times.
- Agricultural sector uses 85 percent of the available fresh water.
- The market is both fragmented and unorganized.
- Of $600 million wastewater treatment equipments, Imports constitute approximately $100 million.
- The major supplier of wastewater treatment equipment is USA with the share of 40%.
- The business opportunities lies in sanitation, urban water supply improvement and municipal waste treatment.
- Apart from the supply of the equipments, companies can also profit themselves by providing consulting and design services to the Indian water industry.
With the near saturation in the Western European market, the players who have entered the market recently and are finding it difficult to make inroads could well refocus their strategy towards Eastern Europe. With the accession of 10 new member states into the European Union, there has been an increase in investment and industrial growth is expected to be on the upward trend in the region.
Apart from the membrane separation, Ozonation process will also see the growth for treating industrial water.
Global Microfiltration Market
As per market research the Microfiltration membrane market in 2005 was $792 million. Microfiltration membrane are used in various industrial processes to separate the contaminants from the liquid. It is expected that this market will grow with the annual rate of of 9.4% and by 2010 its market will grow more than $1.2 billion.
Global Microfiltration Market From(2005-2010)
The major drivers of this industry are
- Government Regulations
- Industry Standards Ï Demand of consumers
- Replacement of aging and old equipments
- Industrial Growth
- Quest for more safe drinking water
- Drinking Water Treatment
- Wastewater Filtration Ï RO pretreatment
- Microbial Stabilization of Wine and Beer
- Biotech and Bioprocessing Industries
- Water Filtration in Semiconductor Fabrication.
The potential market of Microfiltration market lies in following sectors:
- Wastewater treatment
- Micro filtration used in Membrane bioreactors (MBRs)
- In industries for reclaiming process water
- Milk-based liquid and dry ingredients
- Food and Beverages
- Pharmaceutical industry
Since many years Reverse Osmosis Systems are used for water treatment. They are used for various industrial and municipal purposes to obtain clean water. They use semipermeable membrane for this purpose. Thy are capable of desalinating brackish and sea water and can easily treat industrial water.
The growing concern of the people worldwide for clean water and the government rules and regulations are the key drivers of this industry. The other key drivers are: industrialization, water quality standards, government investment in this sector have really boosted this sector.
The global market for RO membrane and systems in 2005 was around $1.9 billion. This market is showing rising trend and is expected to grow upto $3 billion in 2010 with an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 10.3% .
Nearly 2.5 billion gallons per day of RO capacity will be added to the current capacity by the future and the contemporary users. It is expected that USA will be the largest buyer of RO capacity in the near future. The market size of Asia Pacific is second largest after USA and is expected to rise fast with an annual growth rate of 12.1 followed by Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
