NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                                JULY 2012

Market for Filters to Purify Indoor Air is Booming

The market for filters to purify indoor air is booming. Revenues in 2013 will exceed $6.7 billion. This is the latest forecast in Air Filtration and Purification World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.

Indoor Air Filter Market ($ Millions)

World Region

2013

 Africa

  169

 CIS

  262

 East Asia

   1,988

 Eastern Europe

  133

 Middle East

  242

 NAFTA

   2,150

 South & Central America

  261

 West Asia

  266

Western Europe

   1,316

Total

   6,787

The East Asian market will account for nearly one-third of all sales in 2013. This is due to a number of factors. The number of commercial and residential buildings is growing rapidly. In China, the amount of floor space per urban citizen has increased from just 15 m2/capita in 1990 to over 30 m2/capita now. Over the next twenty years the per capita space is projected to grow by 20 percent.

The growth of industry in East Asia is also a factor.  The semiconductor industry utilizes large quantities of expensive high efficiency particulate filters. China, Taiwan and Korea are the growth centers for semiconductor manufacture.

The one market where Europe and the U.S. are maintaining their lead is in air inlet filtration for gas turbines. These areas are switching to the lower carbon emitting turbines. These turbines are subject to damage from smaller and smaller particulates as they evolve to higher performance. It is now common for the inlet air to be filtered with high efficiency particulate filters of either microglass or membranes.  W.L. Gore has introduced a high efficiency membrane filter which can be pulsed. Freudenberg, AAF and others offer a variety of new higher efficiency alternatives to their previous offerings.

Nanotechnology is likely to boost the filter market substantially. New research shows that particles just 20 nanometers in diameter are contributing to autoimmune and other diseases. In order to capture these particles, it is necessary to use ultra high efficiency (ULPA) particulate filters. These filters are more costly and will boost revenues per filter unit as well as extending the applications to processes which are using nanotechnology.

For more information on Air Filtration and Purification World Markets, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/air.html#n022