Apr 13 2011
GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Activated Carbon market. The global market for activated carbon is forecast to reach a market size of 2.3 million metric tons by the year 2017, energized mainly by the anticipated spurt in demand for activated carbon in the US market. Stringent federal environmental regulations over removal of mercury at coal, power and other industrial plants are forecast to stimulate demand over the long-term.
End-use application areas of air purification, water treatment and medical & pharmaceutical will drive dramatic growth in the US and Asia-Pacific markets through 2017. In future, the focus will increasingly shift to developing markets, led by Asian countries of China and India, Latin America and Middle East.
Activated carbon is used in a wide gamut of liquid and gas phase applications, including water treatment, air purification, solvent vapor recovery, food & beverage processing and pharmaceuticals. In the future, apart from the traditional application areas, several new focus spheres are expected to arise from rigid governmental regulations such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act among others. The US and Asia-Pacific, (powered mainly by China, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand) traditionally dominate as two of the largest activated carbon producers across the world.
The US leadership position is slated to further strengthen in the global market stemming mainly from the stringent environmental MACT standards for removal of mercury at coal and power-based plants in the region. In anticipation of the federal regulation becoming fully effective by 2014, strong annual growth rate averaging 13% is predicted for the market in the long-term. Industrial facilities such as clinker cement plants, coal-fired power plants and others with large industrial boilers are expected to show a dramatic increase in demand for activated carbon over the years. Further, the demand would be significantly greater for the powdered activated carbon (PAC) product type, as it is widely used in mercury control technology. Activated carbon is also likely to experience increased demand in motor vehicle emission canisters as a result of new environmental regulations. Some of the other niche areas expected to create dramatic interest for activated carbon include carbon reactivation/recycling, carbon clothing for military personnel as protection against radiological, biological and chemical warfare and ultraviolet light for removal of cryptosporidium and other pathogens in water.
Markets such as the US, China, Western Europe and Japan constitute world's primary activated carbon consuming regions, sizing up a gigantic share of the total global consumption. However, the market dynamics are set to change with a paradigm shift from the dominance of developed and saturated western markets towards rapidly growing and economically lucrative developing markets. APAC, led by China and India is expected to emerge as the leading geographic region both in terms of production as well as consumption of activated carbon. Positive indications are also forecast for other emerging regions including Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. The main factors expected to boost demand include brisk pace of industrialization in developing nations and constant rise in initiatives towards environmental protection.
The global market for activated carbon was significantly impacted by the economic recession during 2008-'09, a direct repercussion of the virtually flat demand from majority of end-use industries. Slowdown and cutbacks in production owing to low product demand, led to fall in usage of activated carbon required for wastewater treatment. Even government-controlled water agencies, important end-users of activated carbon for drinking water treatment, postponed purchase on account of constrained budgets. Companies in the sphere turned towards drastic measures such as price reductions in order to offset the impact of slowdown on their profit margins. Market turnaround to previous levels is based on strong growth from developing economies and stringent implementation of environmental norms in most parts of the world.
The US represents the single largest market for activated carbon, as stated by the new market research report on Activated Carbon. The US is considered the market leader in terms of sheer size and is also forecast to forge ahead of the other world markets at the highest compounded growth rate of over 18% through 2017, driven by new environmental MACT standards and product developments. Asia-Pacific is likely to follow closely as the next significant market for activated carbon.
The product segment of powdered activated carbon (PAC) is the largest market capturing a major share of the world market. The market has primarily maintained dominance due to lower production costs and stronghold in the liquid phase applications. The segment is also forecast to grow at the overall fastest compounded annual rate of 12.3% for the analysis period. By end-use areas, the liquid phase application of Water Treatment continues its leadership position as the largest domain for activated carbon globally. On the other hand, the gas-phase application for Air Purification is poised for unprecedented growth in the future, and likely to register a CAGR of over 22% through 2017.
Leading market participants in the Activated Carbon market include CECA Specialty Chemicals, Calgon Carbon Corp., Chemviron Carbon, Clarimex SA de CV, Haycarb Ltd., Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd., MeadWestvaco Corp., NORIT Americas, Inc., Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd., and PICA.
The research report titled "Activated Carbon: A Global Strategic Business Report" announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of industry outlook, overview, end-use applications, US Federal norms, product overview, recent industry activity, and profiles of market players worldwide. Analysis and overview is presented for major geographic markets such as US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World. Market analytics are provided in terms of terms of Volume (metric tons) for product segments including Powdered Activated Carbon and Granular Activated Carbon. The market is also analyzed in terms of end-use applications such as Liquid Phase Applications (Water Treatment, Food & Beverages, Medical & Pharmaceuticals and Other Liquid Phase Applications) and Gas Phase Applications (Air Purification, Automotive Emission Canister and Other Gas Phase Applications). The study presents historic data for an insight into market evolution over the period 2003 through 2008.
For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit - http://www.strategyr.com/Activated_Carbon_Market_Report.asp