The market for water and wastewater treatment chemicals will exceed $22 billion by 2010 up from $18 billion in 2005, according to a report by McIlvaine Company (www.mcilvainecompany.com).
The report, titled Water and Wastewater Treatment Chemicals: World Markets, says power accounts for nearly one-third of the total market due to the increased use of coal as natural gas prices remain high. China is seen as a particularly promising market, as the country plans additional coal-fired capacity of 300,000 MW, bringing its total to 700,000 MW over the next 15 years. Since coal requires far more treatment chemicals than gas turbine plants, this trend is expected to result in the doubling of chemical sales to Chinese power plants. China is also expected to show high percentage gains in municipal water and wastewater and in the chemical industry.
According to McIlvaine Company, three areas of the treatment chemicals market where double-digit growth will occur are metal separation, odor control, and desalination. The United States recently regulated the miscellaneous metal working industry wastewater discharges, which the study says will result in total yearly treatment costs including equipment and chemicals of $2 billion. In addition, the study says municipal wastewater plants are accelerating their odor-control activities, also a promising trend for treatment chemicals.
McIlvaine Company says corrosion inhibitors will remain the largest product segment in the treatment chemicals market, as worldwide sales are expected to increase from $4.2 billion this year to $5 billion in 2010. The company says organic flocculants will continue as the second largest category, with 2006 sales of $3.2 billion rising to $3.8 billion in 2010. Scale inhibitors are expected to be the third largest segment, with sales growing from $300 million to $3 billion by 2010.
