Membranes and separation technologies are taking on new forms and are playing an ever-expanding role in many industries. Generally speaking, separation technologies are used to recover, isolate, and purify products. Using membranes rather than incumbent methods could reduce both energy use and costs in many industrial processes and application areas including fuel cells, Gallium Nitride (GaN) wafers/semiconductors, hydrogen refueling stations, and more.
According to MarketsandMarkets coverage of this space, the global membrane separation technology market is expected to reach $28.10 Billion by 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% with such players as The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), The 3M Company (U.S.), GE Water & Process Technologies (U.S.), Toray Industries (Japan), Merck Millipore (Germany), Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), Hydranautics (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), Pentair plc (U.K.), and Koch Membrane Systems Inc. (U.S.) leading the market. BCC Research reports that the global market for membrane microfiltration was nearly $1.8 Billion in 2014, almost $1.9 Billion in 2015, and will grow at CAGR of 6.7% to reach close to $2.6 Billion by 2020. These figures from BCC include their use in food and beverage processing, biopharmaceuticals manufacture, potable water production, wastewater treatment, industrial processes, and semiconductor fabrication. Frost & Sullivan also provides extensive coverage on membranes and advanced materials. In its coverage of membrane bioreactors, Frost & Sullivan discusses a variety of competitive factors, including the important role of total system and other costs associated with these systems. BCC Research reports that the global market for membrane bioreactor systems (MBRs) totaled $425.7 million in 2014 and is projected to approach $777.7 million by 2019. Continue reading “Market Snapshot: Membranes & Materials for Energy Efficiency”