Coagulant Market

The global coagulant market is expected to register a remarkable CAGR of 5.93% during the forecast period, 2019–2025. The increasing demand for chemically treated water across various end-use industries is expected to fuel the demand for water treatment chemicals and thus contribute to the growth of the global coagulant market. Stringent regulations associated with the discharge and reuse of contaminated wastewater across the globe are also projected to boost the growth of the global coagulant market. Furthermore, the growing population and rapid urbanization across the globe will increase the demand for water, and thus is likely to generate a large quantity of wastewater, which is expected to create growth opportunities for the players operating in the global coagulant market during the forecast period. Likewise, increasing development for specific formulations is also likely to provide strong growth impetus to the producers during the forecast period. However, the hazards associated with inorganic coagulants are expected to hamper their demand and restrain the growth of the global coagulant market in the future.

The major use of water is in urban water management (municipal), industrial production, and agricultural industry. According to a report by RobecoSAM, around 10% of freshwater is used for domestic purposes, 70% for irrigation in the agricultural industry, and 20% in the industrial sector. However, there are major regional differences in the use of water in developed and developing countries. In developed countries, about half of the total water consumption is by the industrial sector, while in developing countries about 80% is in agriculture. As per MRFR analysis, rapid industrial growth in the countries of Asia-Pacific such as China, India, and Japan has surged the consumption of water in the industrial sector.

A study conducted by the European Environmental Agency (EEA), in 2017, stated that only 40% of the lakes, coastal water, rivers, and estuaries were suitable for use according to the ecological standards, whereas 38% met chemical pollution standards. It has been observed that groundwater sites mostly get polluted due to the discharge of hazardous chemicals and particles from several industries and mining areas, whereas surface water pollution occurs due to ineffective wastewater treatment and degrading habitat. This has led to the growing demand for water treatment chemicals in municipal water plants to ensure safe water for human consumption.

Secondly, the industrial sector across the globe requires a large amount of water for varying purposes. Power plants, for instance, require water for steam generation, ash handling, flue gas desulfurization systems, and cooling purposes. Cooling steam through cooling towers requires nearly 90% of the total water used in power plants. All these processes produce a large amount of contaminated water, which is hazardous for the environment if disposed off. Besides, manufacturing industries such as chemical, pulp & paper, oil & gas, food & beverage, and mining also generate a large amount of contaminated wastewater daily. The effluent from paper & pulp and food & beverage industries contains a large amount of organic waste, which increases the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) of the water body upon disposal. The oil & gas industry requires water for well drilling, hydraulic fracturing, oil sand mining, and refining. The wastewater generated from the chemical and oil & gas industries is generally laden with tailings; seepage; fracturing fluids; oils; toxic, carcinogenic and non-biodegradable chemicals; and traces of metals and oxides. These effluents upon entering the water bodies disturb the chemical oxygen demand (COD) balance causing water pollution. With the increase in the production capacities of these industries, the amount of industrial effluents is also increasing.

Thirdly, the agriculture sector requires treated water for irrigation. The contaminated water from agriculture is generally loaded with organic matters and mineral nutrients of fertilizers such as nitrogen and phosphorous, which needs treatment before its use for irrigation. Various regulations have been put forth by the environmental regulatory bodies across the world on the discharge of effluent into the environment. Thus, to control the COD and BOD balance and to meet the regulatory standards, the demand for water treatment chemicals is rising in municipal, industrial, and agriculture sectors across the globe.

Thus, significant growth has been observed in the consumption of water treatment chemicals from end-use segments and is expected to remain high during the forecast period. This is, in turn, contributing to the growth of the global coagulant market, largely.

According to the 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the global urban population was 34% of the total in 1960; however, in 2018 the urban population accounted for 55% of the total and continues to grow. The report predicts that by 2050, the population living in urban areas is expected to reach 66%. The report also projected that the population is expected to be highly concentrated in particularly three countries, namely India, China, and Nigeria (collectively account for 35% of the projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2018 and 2050). By 2050, it is projected that India will have added 416 million urban dwellers, China 255 million, and Nigeria 189 million. The urban population of the world has increased rapidly from 751 million in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018. Asia, despite its relatively lower level of urbanization, is home to 54% of the world’s urban population, followed by Europe and Africa with 13% each. Today, the most urbanized regions include Northern America (with 82% of its population living in urban areas in 2018), Latin America and the Caribbean (81%), Europe (74%), Oceania (68%), Asia (50%), and Africa (43%).

In addition to this, there is also rapid industrialization observed in recent days, particularly in the emerging economies of Asia-Pacific (China, India), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico), and the Middle East & Africa (Turkey, UAE).

Thus, with the rise in population and rapid urbanization, there is a rising need for freshwater, since water is an essential resource for life and industrial activities and consequently increasing the need for wastewater treatment to avoid damage to human health and ecosystems. This is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities to manufacturers of coagulants during the forecast period.

The inorganic coagulants, especially aluminum sulfate and polyaluminum sulfate, have reported to leave residual aluminum in the treated water. This residual aluminum has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer. They are also reported to be hazardous to the environment and aquatic life. Thus, the market players and government organizations are investing in R&D to bring in environmentally friendly coagulants.

This is expected to hamper the demand for inorganic coagulants and restrain the growth of the global market during the forecast period.

Inorganic coagulants generate large volumes of sludge and thus pose environmental challenges. The recycling of sludge, containing useful organic matter and nutrients in agriculture is considered as the best solution. However, sludge containing inorganic chemicals often needs further treatments to comply with regulations and safe disposal. The activated sludge treatment plants are, firstly, costly to construct and occupy substantial land areas. The cost of treating the sludges is a major component of the total cost of treatment and it makes the overall water treatment process cost-intensive. Secondly, the activated sludge treatment process demands a high carbon footprint, and therefore safe disposal of sludge is considered as a vital element of a sustainable functioning facility.