The Study of Global Membrane Separation Market

The global membrane separation market was valued at $19.0 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2013 to 2019, reaching an estimated $39.2 billion in 2019.

Membrane Separation Market: Overview 

Membrane separation technology is the most widely used method for water cleaning. The widening gap between water supply and demand drives the constantly growing demand for membranes. The membrane separation market spans a wide range of industries to support environmental protection. The need for this technology is expected to be highest in the pharmaceutical, industrial gas processing, and other medical end-user segments in the near future. The water and waste-water treatment segments occupy the largest market share in the membranes market, with approximately a share value of 62.2% in 2013.

All the above-mentioned segments are enhanced due to high solute rejection, chemical and mechanical stability, and cost-effective properties of membranes marked in each of these segments. Such factors are responsible for the rapid growth and demand for membranes for solving water industry and other environmental concerns.

However, the market will also have to overcome certain restraining challenges, such as changing regulations and short life span, in order to meet the rising demands from the growing membranes market. 

Without the need of adding any chemical substances, the membrane separation technology helps to separate materials through minute gaps or pores in a suitable molecular arrangement. 

Membrane Separation Market – By Product Segmentation

Some of the membrane processes to aid water treatment are ultrafiltration, microfiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis. Membrane technology, filtration, membrane bioreactors, and medical membrane devices are some of the extra areas covered under this market study.

Among all the markets, the microfiltration sector dominated the overall market with over 35% global market share in 2012. On the other hand, the water & wastewater dominated the end-user market with approximately 36% global market shares in 2012. This sector was seen as the major end-user segment of membrane separation technology, expected to increase at a CAGR of 11.1% during 2013-19.

Expansion of such industry was the largest in the European membrane market, in 2013. The market in this region is expected to reach $13.8 billion in 2019, rising at a CAGR of 9.6% in the forecast period. 

Owing to its efficient energy use in the separation process, reduced chemical use, and simple operation after proper installation, membrane separation technology proves highly beneficial compared to traditional techniques.  

Factors Driving the Membrane Separation Market 

The chief factor propelling the growth of the market is demand for clean and processed drinking water. Mandatory government regulations are implied to provide public with clean drinking water that is certainly free of impurities.  

In addition, environmental acts such as the Clean Water Act, run by the national government as mandatory adherence, have also influenced the growth and demand for membrane separation technology in areas with water scarcity. The general awareness of water scarcity has driven the demand for water reuse in water-stricken areas. 

As chemical treatments are regarded as an unclean form of technology causing disposal waste materials, the global water and waste water segment experienced a major shift from usage of chemical materials to physical treatments, in the past few years.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape section of the global market study on membrane separation provides benchmarking of vital market players – their product offering and geographical presence. Some of the major operating players are Koch Membrane Systems Inc., Dow Chemical Company, Nitto Denko Corporation, Evoqua Water Technologies, Degremont SA, Pall Corporation, Merck Millipore, 3M Company, GEA Filtration, and Veolia Environnement.