Membranes Market Worth $8.3 Billion by 2024

The membranes market is projected to grow from USD 5.4 billion in 2019 to USD 8.3 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 9.0%. Rapidly growing population, increasing industrialization and urbanization, detrimental effects of industrialization on water sources, and the environment are propelling the global membranes market. Additionally, the replacement of chemical treatment of water by physical treatment technologies such as RO, UF, and others is also boosting the demand for membranes.

DuPont (US) has a strong position in the membranes market. The company has a strong product portfolio of membranes, which find application in various industries such as food & beverage, pharmaceutical, metals & mining, textile, oil & gas, and others. It operates through its 43 manufacturing sites, mainly manufacturing products in safety & construction products. These sites are located in the Americas, APAC, the Middle East & Africa, and Europe and have extensive sales & distribution infrastructure, which helps in attaining economies of scale. It focuses on offering solutions to diverse applications in the water & wastewater industry. Hence it is continuously focused on expanding its product portfolio. For instance, recently, DuPont has undertaken acquisitions of Desalitech, inge GmbH, Memcor, and OxyMem Limited. These acquisitions have expanded the company’s portfolio in UF, Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis, and MBR’s. The strategic acquisitions of all these players exhibit DuPont’s customer-centric portfolio, offering a wide range of water treatment technologies, and other specialized requirements.

Toray (Japan) is another major player operating in the market. The company has a robust global presence and offers membranes based on a wide range of technologies such as RO and UF. The company emphasizes on research & development in the field of membranes technology, with continuous new product launch to strengthen product portfolio, widening its product utility in various end-use industries, such as pharmaceutical, food & beverage, and oil & gas. Recently, Toray has launched two new products, a new pressurized PVDF Ultrafiltration membrane, and an ultra-low pressure, and low fouling RO membrane. This product launch has helped the company to offer innovative solutions offering energy-efficiency and high permeability.

The Polymeric material segment is projected to lead the membranes market during the forecast period.

Based on material, the polymeric segment is a group of polymers that have better and more efficient mechanical properties to sustain for membrane filtration. Natural polymers include wool, rubber, and cellulose while synthetic polymers used in membrane production comprise polyamide, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polymethylpentene, polystyrene, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Polymeric membranes are cost-effective, provide good selectivity for a wide range of applications such as beverage processing, feed water production, chemical processing, and others, and are easy to process and operate. The high performance, excellent efficiency, and specific separation properties provided by polymeric membranes are responsible for the broad market size in this segment.

The NF technology segment is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on technology, the NF segment is projected to register the highest CAGR between 2019 and 2024. The use of NF membranes is increasing due to their ability to permeate monovalent ions while rejecting divalent and multivalent ions. The flexibility for ion separation and permeation provided by these membranes offer significant advantages in industrial applications. Also, the use of these membranes for water treatment provides lower discharge volumes than RO, reduces heavy metal, salt, and nitrate contents. These membranes are also beneficial for whey protein concentration, juice concentration and other applications in the food & beverage and pharmaceutical industry. Excellent selectivity properties provided by NF membranes, increasing industrialization, and growing population are the major drivers for the NF membranes.

Water & wastewater treatment is projected to lead the membranes market during the forecast period.

Based on the application, the water & wastewater treatment segment is projected to capture the largest share in the membranes market. Membranes are used in water & wastewater treatment for desalination, sewage water treatment, and industrial water treatment. Accelerated urbanization, rapid industrialization, and expansion of municipal water facilities, globally are driving the membranes market in water & wastewater treatment applications. Also, variation in the water cycle dynamics, and stringent regulations to reduce water pollution, is even driving the membranes market.

APAC is projected to register the highest CAGR between 2019 and 2024.

The  market in APAC has immense growth potential driven by the increasing demand for the physical treatment of water. APAC consists of some large and rapidly growing economies, such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Across these economies, local governments are reforming regulations in fields such as water treatment, drinking water supply, and wastewater discharge. The major drivers for the membranes sector in APAC are growing population, increasing demand for sanitation & freshwater, and rapid industrialization.