NEWS RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2012
Drinking Water Supplies Will Account For 48 Percent of the Cross-Flow Membrane Equipment and Module Purchases Next Year
Sales of cross-flow membrane systems and replacement modules will exceed $9.7 billion next year. Forty-eight percent of this total will be for municipal drinking water. This includes the reverse osmosis systems used for seawater desalination and the ultrafiltration and microfiltration systems used for drinking water extracted from fresh water sources. This is the conclusion reached in the latest additions to RO, UF, MF World Market published by the McIlvaine Company.
Cross-Flow Membrane Revenues ($ Millions)
Ranking Industry 2013
1 Desalination 2,852
2 Water 1,845
3 Pharmaceutical 875
4 Residential/Commercial 721
5 Power 559
6 Wastewater 354
7 Metals 343
The world’s population is increasing most rapidly in the areas of the world with the least amount of fresh water. This has greatly increased the demand to desalinate seawater to provide drinking water as well as water needed by industry.
Traditionally, municipal drinking water plants utilized sand filters to remove particulate from extracted water. However, macrofiltration and ultrafiltration provide greater protection from disease and are capturing more market share each year.
The pharmaceutical industry will be the third largest purchaser. Residential and commercial use is growing robustly due to poor municipal water quality in many countries. The power industry uses cross-flow membranes to purify boiler feedwater. There is an increasing use of treated municipal wastewater for golf courses, lawns and other “grey water” applications.
For more information on RO, UF, MF World Market, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/water.html#no20
