Membranes Market Research Report: Information By Product Type (Freac Sand, Resin-Coated Proppant, Ceramic Proppant) By Application (Shale Gas, Tight Gas, Coal Bed Methane) By Region ( North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa) Forecast till 2030

Membranes Market Overview

The membranes market size is projected to be worth USD 13.2 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 8.50% during the forecast period (2021–2030). The market was valued at USD 5.8 billion in 2020.

Membrane processes employ a barrier layer that allows water to permeate or pass through it but rejects or retards other components from going along with that filtrate. Molecules, ions, and other tiny particles are examples of such particles. There are various membrane technologies available that include RO membrane, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, nanofiltration, and others depending on the size of the pore and particulate matters.

COVID-19 Impact vs. Opportunities for the Membranes Market:

Rapid industrialization in emerging economies such as India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia is likely to increase the demand for membranes in the coming forecast period. The demand for high purity water in developing nations is being fueled by the rise of the food and beverage industry, which is fueled by rising consumption of packaged foods and functional beverages. Furthermore, increasing end-use industries including power generation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics and personal care offer considerable potential for membrane manufacturers. Additionally, a number of desalination facilities are projected to see an increase in water demand as a result of increased oil and gas production and extraction activities as a result of rising demand for petroleum products. The demand for membranes is projected to rise as a result of this development.

COVID-19 has had a negative impact on overall industrial production, severely impacting the production of membranes mainly due to the disruption in the supply chain across the globe. This is because of the global lockdown and restriction in traveling to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic has affected global operations of different industries, including food & beverage, textiles, chemicals & petrolchemical, as well as pharmaceuticals limiting the demand of membranes. Because membranes are widely employed in various industries, the decline in their operations has a direct impact on the supply of membranes market growth. However, as these end-use industries comes under essential services, the demand for membranes has not witnessed a notable change. Membranes are widely used in the water and waste water treatment services. Hence, the demand for membranes had witnessed a rise in demand from residential as well as commercial water treatment plants during the global pandemic. In order to meet the increased demand from end-users, membranes producers have maintained their facilities running with a limited workforce.

In addition to this, procurement of raw materials was also a major hindrance as the majority of raw materials suppliers in the market had to shut down their operating facilities due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The shutdown of various raw material producers and membranes manufacturers have reported a decline in global consumption. Looking at the situation, many companies have halted their production facilities across the globe. Some large companies, which are still working, are operating at only 40-60% efficiency. However, these companies have begun operations again as per the government norms. In addition to this, the imposition of various fiscal and monetary policies across the globe to limit the damage caused by COVID-19 by the governments and managements is expected to result in certain relief.

Membranes Market Dynamics

Drivers

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  Increasing demand for high-quality water in numerous industries

  
  

The use of membrane systems is increasing to produce highly purified water for numerous applications as it helps to remove all small and large ions, colloids, organics, bacteria, and pyrogens from the feed water. The surge in demand for membrane systems is likely to result in increased demand for membrane chemicals to remove the impurities collected on the surface of membranes during operation and improve the performance of the membranes.

Opportunity

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  Set up of desalination plants for irrigation purpose

  
  

With the increasing scarcity of water sources, farmers rely on brackish water for irrigational activities which affect the crop quality and deteriorates soil quality due to the presence of high saline content. This has resulted in a shift from the use of brackish water to desalinated water which improves crop yield and reduces operational cost. Desalinated water is generated by processing the sea and brackish water using membrane technology which removes all harmful substances such as microorganisms, bacteria, other pollutants, and dissolved matter which includes chlorides, sulfates, and silica. Additionally, the use of desalinated water is also increasing for animal feeding, which, has led to an increase in a number of desalination plants to meet all agricultural requirements worldwide.

Restraints

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  Volatile prices and availability of raw materials

  
  

The global membranes market is hampered by the fluctuation in crude oil prices. The high cost of raw materials affects the production cost of membranes, which leads to price increases, affecting manufacturer margins.

Challenges

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  High capital cost and stringent environmental policies

  
  

Membranes production need significant expenditure on research and development and installation cost. There are also strict environmental policies in developed regions that place the economic burden on the manufacturer to comply with the stringent norms.

Cumulative Growth Analysis

• The global membranes market is expected to witness healthy growth at a CAGR of 8.50% throughout the forecast period. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 globally, the demand for membranes declined slightly in 2020.

Regulatory Implications

Direct discharge of wastewater results in a harmful impact on human beings, animal, environment, and aquatic life as a result of which environmental regulations against wastewater discharge are increasing. For instance, the Clean Water Act established by the US Environmental protection Agency has set NPDES, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System programme for setting waste discharge limits from industrial and municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Also, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive established by the European Union has set norms for the discharge of urban waste from industrial sectors and municipality.

Supply Chain Analysis:

The supply chain analysis is the process of evaluating every stage and step taken by stakeholders involved throughout the production and distribution of membranes. The supply chain includes raw materials and suppliers, membranes producers, distribution channels, and end-use industries. The distribution channel in this market comprises distributors, wholesalers, and e-commerce merchants.

Membranes Market Segmentation

By Material

• Polymer: The mechanical properties of polymer membranes are better and more efficient for membrane filtration. Polyamide, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polymethylpentene, polystyrene, and polytetrafluoroethylene are some of the synthetic polymers used in membrane production (PTFE). Wool, rubber, and cellulose are examples of natural polymers.


• Ceramic: Inorganic materials such as aluminium oxides, titanium oxides, silicon carbide, zirconium oxide, and glassy materials are used to make ceramic membranes. Aggressive media, such as acids and strong solvents, have little impact on ceramic membranes. Chemically, thermally, and mechanically, they are extremely stable, and they are biologically inert. Despite their high weight and high production costs, ceramic membranes are environmentally friendly and have a long working life.


• Others: Other materials include zeolite, metal, and hybrid.

By Technology

• Reverse Osmosis (RO): RO membrane are used to remove the hard salts, iron, minerals, colloidal, bacteria, and other microorganisms that get deposited at the surface of the membranes during water purification process. RO membranes are typically capable of removing 90%–99% of contaminants such as total dissolved solids (TDSs) in the water supply.


• Ultrafiltration (UF): Ultrafiltration membrane pore sizes fall between nanofiltration and microfiltration, with pore sizes ranging from 0.01 to 0.1m.


• Microfiltration (MF): Microfiltration is a low-pressure separation method that employs membranes with large pore sizes. Microfiltration filters can be made from both organic and inorganic materials, such as polymer-based membranes and ceramic or stainless steel. Microfiltration membranes can separate large suspended solids with pore sizes ranging from 0.1 to 10m.


• Nanofiltration (NF): Nanofiltration is a separation method that uses organic, thin-film composite membranes with pore sizes ranging from 0.1 to 10 nanometers. NF membranes can work at lower pressures and reject solutes selectively based on size and charge.


• Others: Other technologies include pervaporation, dialysis & electrodialysis, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, ion exchange, and chromatography membranes.

By Application

• Water & Wastewater Treatment: The water & wastewater treatment include desalination, utility water treatment, and waste water treatment. Rising urbanization and water demand globally has driven the demand for this segment.


• Industrial Processing: Industrial processing include food & beverage, chemical & petrochemicals, textiles, inks & dyes, power, pharmaceuticals, and paper & pulp, amongst others. Stringent regulations on industrial water discharge has led to the growth of this segment.

Regional Analysis

Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest market share and is projected to witness the fastest growth in the market. This market growth can be attributed to the growing major end-use industries such as water treatment, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and power generation. Furthermore, rising awareness about the water quality and strict government regulations in the region are likely to boost the demand for membranes. North America accounted for the second-largest share in the global market due to large production bases of membranes producers, availabilty of raw materials, and the presence of advanced manufacturing technologies. North America is followed by Europe. Europe recorded stagnant growth in the global market owing to stringent government regulations against wastewater discharge. On the other hand, The Middle East and African market is likely to grow at a healthy CAGR during the review period due to the increasing number of desalination plants to meet the growing water requirement in the region. The Latin American market is likely to create vast growth opportunities due to the rise in urbanization and industrialization in the region.

Competitive Landscape

The global Membranes market is highly fragmented with various tier-1, tier-2, and unorganized players operating in the market. The key payers operating in the global market have large production bases and advanced manufacturing facilities at the domestic and international levels. This helps them supply the product to various end users globally in less time than small-scale manufacturers, providing a competitive edge in the global market. Further, manufacturers are majorly involved in the research and development activities to develop advanced technologies and expand their production facilities to cater to the growing needs of end-users globally. Moreover, manufacturers are entering into long-term partnerships with key stakeholders to gain a strong share of the global Membranes market.

Some of the prominent players in the global Membranes market include Dupont (US), Toray Industries (Japan), Hydranautics ( A Nitto Group Company) (China), Koch Separation Solutions (US), Pentair (US), Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), Lanxess (Germany), LG Chem (South Korea), Pall Corporation (US), and Suez (France), amongst others.

Some of the key developments include:

• In November 2021, Toray Industries, Inc. has developed and begun supplying samples of a new hollow fibre ultrafiltration membrane module for food and beverage manufacturing and biotechnology purification and concentration processes.


• In December 2021, Japanese ceramics company NGK Insulators has developed a carbon dioxide separation membrane for industrial exhaust gas, which during testing achieved a CO2 separation factor of approximately five times that of conventionally developed DDR-type zeolite membrane used for CO2 separation.


• In December 2021, a team of researchers from the United Arab ‎Emirates University and Akita University in ‎Japan are developing a new technology for ‎Ceramic Membrane-based Produced Water ‎Treatment (CMPWT)‎.


• In December 2021, Cummins Inc. and China Petrochemical Corporation announced the formation of a 50:50 joint venture, namely Cummins Enze (Guangdong) Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. The joint venture will initially invest in installation of a manufacturing plant to produce proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers.


• In July 2021, NX Filtration has been chosen by PT. Bayu, an Indonesian specialist in the construction of water and wastewater treatment plants, to supply its hollow fibre nanofiltration membranes for potable water production at Rumah Sakit Cipto Mangunkusomo, Indonesia’s biggest state owned hospital in Jakarta.

Membranes Report Overview:

The membranes market is segmented by material, technology, application, and region in the report. In terms of insights, this report has focused on various levels of analysis such as market dynamics, value chain analysis, Porter's five forces, competitive landscape, and company profiles—all of which comprise and discuss views on the global membranes' emerging and fast-growing segments, regions, and countries.

Objectives of the Study

• To get a comprehensive overview of the global membranes market


• To get wide-ranging information about the key factors driving the market and market opportunities


• To gain information regarding the key players in the industry, their product portfolio, strategies, and key developments


• To gain insights about the key country/region in which the market is growing

Intended Audience

• Water and Wastewater Treatment Companies


• Food & Beverage Producing Companies


• Petrochemicals Companies


• Pharmaceutical Companies


• Paper & Pulp Companies


• Research Institutes


• Academic Institutes


• Government Organizations