Market Overview

Peracetic acid (PAA) or peroxy acetic acid is a colorless and highly acidic liquid. Hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid are used as principal constituent in commercial manufacturing of peracetic acid. It is used in various products with concentration ranging from 5%-35% content. Peracetic acid is one of the most effective oxidizing agents after ozone. It is highly water soluble and does not produce any health and environmentally hazardous byproducts.

Based on the different application of the peracetic acid the market can be further segmented as disinfectants, sterilant, sanitizer and others. Disinfectant segment held largest market share worldwide in 2013. Disinfectants are used in healthcare, food and beverages industry, water treatment and bleaching application in pulp & paper industry. Sterilant and sanitizer were the two of the fasted growing application segment in 2013.

The Peracetic acid market is mainly driven by the increasing application of peracetic acid in various allied industries such as food processing and beverage industries. Peracetic acid got recognition from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as antimicrobial and as safe chemicals to protect food for longer time.

This has developed many new application of peracetic acid as food preservatives and microbial disinfectants over the past few years. In food industry peracetic acid is widely used as a preservative for meat and poultry and fisheries products.

Moreover, rising demand of peracetic acid in various beverages processing application is also acting as a leading growth driver for the market. Nevertheless the traditional application of peracetic acid market such as industrial cleaning disinfectants, healthcare and personal care applications is rising which in turn is driving the market of Peracetic acid.

Advancement in manufacturing technology, growing popularity of bio-based chemicals and innovative techniques developed for the use of peracetic acid in many new applications in an array of product is expected to lay new opportunities for of peracetic acid market in upcoming years.

Direct exposure to Peracetic acid can cause severe burns, allergy, and other hazardous health effects to the eyes, skin, and respiratory organs. Peracetic acid can cause severe health issues if ingested in higher concentrations, together these factors are restricting its wide acceptance in at house hold application which is one of the major challenges for peracetic acid market.

Europe is the largest market of Peracetic acid followed by North America, Asia Pacific and rest of the world (RoW). Asia Pacific and RoW (include Latin America, Middle East, and Africa) are two of the fasted growing Peracetic acid market of the world. Country wise, China and India are two of the largest regional market of peracetic acid. China held the largest market share in terms of regional consumption of peracetic acid in 2013. The size of peracetic acid market is relatively low in the RoW region, but expected to display a healthy growth throughout the forecasted period.

Some of the major companies operating in global peracetic acid market include, Kemira Chemicals, Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals, Seitz GMBH, Aditya Birla Chemicals, Ecolab, Solvay Chemicals, Peroxychem, Evonik Industries, Enviro Tech Chemical Services, Helios Group, Christeyns and Promox S.P.A.