Membrane Separation Technology- Choose Quality in Purity

The global membrane separation technologies market was valued at US$2.349 billion in 2020 and will increase to US$4,709 billion by 2027. Over the forecast period, this market is estimated to increase at a compound yearly growth rate of 10.44%. Membrane separation, often known as membrane filtration, is a filtering method for removing suspended particles and other materials from water or other media. The permeability of the membrane, its relative concentration, and the force with which the particles are transmitted through the membrane all play a role in particle separation through membranes. Membrane separation techniques can be used to separate big molecules, microscopic molecules, as well as ions & salts. In comparison to other separation & filtration procedures, the membrane separation approach has the advantage of requiring less energy and fewer chemicals.

According to analysts, the increasing demand for membrane separation technologies owing to the increasing depletion of water resources and contamination of water will be the driving force behind the market's robust growth over the forecasted timeframe.

Increased application in water and wastewater treatment, as well as increased demand from the food, pharmaceuticals, and other processing industries, are the primary factors driving the market considered. With the global shortage of fresh water and rising liquid waste, water recycling and efficient treatment of industrial wastewater is expected to become more important to meet industrial, commercial, and residential demands while also having a positive impact on the environment. Furthermore, the food and beverage processing industry's future economic growth, as well as a wide range of membrane separation applications such as microbe removal, dealcoholizing, aroma retrieval, volume reduction, preferential fractionation, and other novel ingredient processing, are expected to create huge opportunities for the membrane separation technologies market.

In addition, industry members are commissioned with various R & D tasks in collaboration with research institutes to improve and stimulate membrane manufacturing technology. Utilizing the power of 3D printing, it will also be possible to produce specially designed and molded films in a more specific way than the various film manufacturing techniques currently available. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suggested the use of RO prefiltration in the food and beverage industry to reduce the risk of biofilm formation. This will make membrane separation techniques more attractive over the years to come.

Many significant competitors are employing strategic investments and alliances to satisfy this progressive paradigm shift and customer needs, increasing market growth. For instance, G2O Water Technologies, a UK technology company, recently concluded an equity investment round in July 2021, with new and existing investors supporting the company's expansion. G2O's novel graphene oxide coating products, which minimize the economic and environmental costs of water treatment, have gained significant popularity, with a fast-expanding pipeline of opportunities in industries as diverse as industrial, oil and gas, f&b, and domestic water filtration. Furthermore, Toray Industries Inc. announced in June 2021 that it had created a dual all-carbon-fiber carbon dioxide separation membrane. A hollow/porous carbon fiber serves as a support, with a thin carbon fiber membrane separating the layer on top.

Global membrane separation technologies’ market expansion could be hindered by issues like fouling.  

Fouling is a big issue that hurts the company's operations. Its efficiency and flow are reduced, resulting in higher energy consumption and deterioration of the water and stream quality. To remove contaminated items, the only options are chemical cleaning or replacement, both of which come at a high cost.  Because of these expenses, applications and acceptance are restricted to specialized industries, limiting the market growth. The high cost of equipment, the transfer of the end-use market from developed to emerging countries, and the rising cost of production all stifle the market's expansion globally.

The reverse osmosis segment of the global membrane separation technologies market is expected to have a dominant share throughout the estimated time frame.

Reverse osmosis membranes typically have a particle size of less than one nanometer and are utilized in the manufacture of ultrapure water, landfill leachate remediation, and seawater desalination. Traditional thermal desalination technologies such as Multiple Effect Distillation and Multistage Flash Distillation have a much lower recovery rate than reverse osmosis. As a result, in saltwater desalination plants all over the world, reverse osmosis technology is continually displacing the thermal desalination process.

The synthetic polymer membrane segment of the global membrane separation technologies market is estimated to grow quickly over the forecast period.

Since the middle of the twentieth century, synthetic membranes have been successfully employed for small & large-scale industrial processes, and they are the most widely used. In general, synthetic polymer materials have a wide range of forms and properties. They're most typically employed for UF, but they're also used as support substrates in NF and RO processes. The market sector is driven by these materials' superior permeability, permeate selectivity, mechanical stability, and chemical resistance.

During the projected period, the food & beverage segment is expected to grow rapidly in the global membrane separation technologies market.

With greater awareness & information accessibility, the population's consumption patterns are predicted to shift toward healthier, more nutritious, and cleaner foods, resulting in rapid food and beverage sector innovation and research and development. Membrane separation technologies such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis (RO) are expected to drive the market for membrane separation technologies in various food categories such as milk standardization, vegetable oil refining, gluten production, and so on, as demand for food rises. Consumers in the twenty-first century face environmental pollution, stress, society, and health concerns, according to the May 2021 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, functional foods can promote mental and physical health. The membrane separation technology market is also expected to grow as the f&b sectors innovate.

During the forecast period, the global membrane separation technologies market in the Asia Pacific is predicted to have a dominating share.

Rising water contamination and growing environmental concerns are driving this growth, which is fueled by businesses including mining, chemicals, and metal processing. In 2015, China's government announced the "Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan" to keep extremely polluting industries like chemicals and pulp and paper from damaging water supplies. The adoption of this action plan is projected to augment membrane separation technologies in China by promoting wastewater treatment. Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific area is home to the world's largest manufacturers of various membrane technology. TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation, DuPont, NITTO DENKO CORPORATION, and Samco Technologies, Inc. are some of the top manufacturers of membrane technology.

Covid-19 Insights    

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the membrane separation technologies market, as demand for membrane filtration has decreased while operations in the food processing industry have temporarily ceased. Furthermore, with the shutdown of companies, there was little to no wastewater generated, resulting in a drop in membrane filter demand. As a result of the global COVID-19 regulations, fewer people have bought drinking water, which has damaged the operations of mineral water distributors, resulting in a drop in the market for food and beverage membrane separation technology. The medical and pharmaceutical industries, on the other hand, used membrane filtration extensively in creating procedures to test N95 replacement masks, extract RNA, and concentrate viral proteins from liquid media, propelling membrane separation technology forward.