Overview
Chelating Agent Market is
forecast to reach $6.04 billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 3.88% during
2020-2025. A chelating agent also called as chelates, or a sequestering agent is
a multidentate ligand whose molecules can form several bonds to a single metal
ion. The global demand for chelating agent is rising due to the growth of the
chemicals industry. Chelating agents play a major role in the manufacturing
process of a wide range of industrial and household cleaning products, such as
detergents, surface cleaners, liquid washing soaps, granules, and sprays. Rapid
industrialization has escalated the market for chelating agent industry in
various end-user industries.
Report Coverage
The report: “Chelating Agent Market – Forecast (2020-2025)”, by IndustryARC, covers
an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Chelating Agent Market.
Key Takeaways
- Chelating agents, like citric acid, have good water softening properties find a wide range of applications in wastewater treatment
- Specific chelating agents bind iron, copper, or lead in the blood and can be deployed to treat extremely high levels of these metals in the bloodstream. Chelating agents may also be used for treating heavy metal poisoning.
- Players in chelating agents market are experiencing rapidly increasing demand for bio-degradable chelating agents, which offers them with the opportunities for potential expansion and production in the international market.
- Bioderived sodium gluconate will likely gain the market owing to its eco-friendly and non-toxic nature and its usage in detergents, industrial applications, and cosmetic products.
By Product- Segment Analysis
Aminopolycarboxylate segment held
the largest share in the chelating agent market in 2019. One of the most
extensively used chelating agents is Aminopolycarboxylate. These agents form
chelants with metal ions that are present in a wide range of domestic products
and therefore are used as metal sequestrates in numerous industrial
applications.
Increasing availability of
biodegradable amino polycarboxylates products is expected to boost the growth of
the amino polycarboxylates segment over the forecast period. Increasing usage of amino polycarboxylates in household and home care applications, particularly for
water treatment and removal of hard water is expected to drive its demand.
By Application - Segment Analysis
Pulp and Paper segment held a
significant share in the chelating agent market in 2019. Chelating agents are
extensively used in bleaching wood pulp and recycling fibers in pulp processing
and paper production industries. Increasing demand for tissue and graphic
papers is a major growth factor of pulp & paper industry. Besides, chelating
agents play a fundamental role and are considered as an integral part of the
pulp & paper making process. These chelating agents not only improve the
effectiveness of hydrosulfite and hydrogen peroxide bleaches but also reduces
the downtimes and cost of bleaching.
Cleaning chemicals for the household
and industrial cleaning is another major application of chelating agent. Enhancing
lifestyle and increasing population will further catalyze the global detergents
industry, hence driving the chelating agent market.
Geography - Segment Analysis
Asia Pacific dominated
the chelating agent market with a share of more than 31% during the forecast
period. It is the fastest-growing market for chelating agent due to the increasing number
of chelating agent manufacturers in Asia Pacific, particularly in China. Also,
Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth over the next few years
due to increasing usage of chelating agents in the existing large-scale pulp
and paper and textile industries. Emerging economies of the region including
China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia are expected to show
significant improvements in water treatment, detergent, and cleaning application
sectors owing to growing population, coupled with increasing awareness.
Europe and North
America accounts for a significant share of biodegradable chelating agents due
to rising public concerns over environmental pollution caused by using
non-biodegradable agents. This is likely to increase the demand for chelating
agents in these regions.
Drivers – Chelating Agent Market
- Increased demand for utilization of chelating agents for various applications
Chelating agent market is mainly
driven by their utilization in various applications, such as paper
manufacturing, water treatment, and the latest dishwasher tabs to remove or
prevent hard-water and food stains on dishes. These are also used as precursors
in the production of fertilizers that release micronutrients in crops to avoid
salinization of soil. Besides this, chelating agents are used as additives in
the food processing industry as the binding of the metal atoms stabilizes the color,
structure and aroma of the food and provides a preservative and antioxidant
effect. In addition, advances in chelating technology have helped to develop
mobilizing agents that can help minimize industrial waste and reduce the
environmental impact of hazardous chemicals.
Challenges – Chelating Agent Market
- Usage of non-biodegradable chelating agents
Continuous exposure to
non-biodegradable chelating agents including HEDP, EDTA, and STPP have harmful
consequences on the environment, which might hamper the growth of chelating
agent market during the forecast period. These chemicals are extensively found
in discharges after water treatment in various industries and percolate through
the topsoil to contaminate the groundwater by mobilizing the dissolved heavy
metals from their solid phases. The harmful effects of the chemicals may hinder
market development. Adverse effects of non-biodegradable chelating agents
called in for promoting the usage of advanced and bio-degradable chemicals,
particularly in Asia Pacific.
Market Landscape
Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D
activities are key strategies adopted by players in the chelating agent market. In 2019, the market of chelating
agent has been consolidated
by the top five players accounting for xx% of the chelating agent market share.
Major top 10 companies of chelating agent market are Akcros Chemicals, Akzo Nobel, BASF,
Chelest, Dow, DuPont, Hebei Smart Chemicals, Innophos, Jungbunzlauer, Kemira,
Lanxess, Prayon, Protex, Tata Chemicals and Zschimmer & Schwarz among
others.
Price Increase
- In November 2018, the Care Chemicals business of BASF in North America raised prices on Trilon® chelating agents by 10 percent effective January 1, 2019. The chelating agents affected are EDTA, DTPA, and HEDTA.