Flocculant & Coagulant Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Flocculant & Coagulant Market size is forecast to reach around $7 billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 6% during 2020-2025. Flocculant & coagulants are chemicals that aggregate the colloids and other suspended particles of high molecular weights in the liquid, thereby clean the water. Use of coagulation-flocculation method for removing harmful substances from wastewater is driving the growth of flocculant & coagulant market. Moreover, surging demand of poly aluminium chloride (PACl) and cationic polyacrylamide (C-PAM) for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and turbidity from paper recycling wastewater is aiding the growth of the market. Flocculant & coagulants are also used in oilfields for mud dewatering, oil/water separation and flow back water recycling. 

The report: “Flocculant & Coagulant Market – Forecast (2020-2025)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Flocculant & Coagulant Industry. 

By Type: Coagulant {Organic Coagulant (Polyamine, Chitosan, and others) and Inorganic Coagulant (Aluminium Sulfate, Aluminium Chloride, Sodium Aluminate, Ferric Sulfate, Others)} and Flocculant (Anionic, Cationic, Non-Ionic, and Others)

By Application: Municipal Water Treatment, Paper and Pulp, Textile, Oil and Gas, Mining, Chemical Processing, and Others

By Geography: North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and RoW

Coagulant segment holds the largest share of more than 55% in the flocculant & coagulant market in 2019. The use of coagulation offer various advantages like it reduces the time required to settle out suspended solids and is very effective in removing fine particles that are very difficult to remove. Moreover, the water treatment coagulants consists of positively charged molecules that, destabilizes negatively charged particulate and colloidal contaminants. The inorganic and organic coagulants are also used to treat water for the removal of suspended solids in oilfields and textile industries. The rise in production of oil and gas increases the use of coagulants for the separation of oil and water. For instance, according to International Energy Agency (IEA), the global oil production capacity is expected to rise by 5.9 mb/d by 2025 whereas Non-OPEC supply of crude and natural gas liquids will rise by 4.5 mb/d.

Based on the application, the paper and pulp segment held the largest share of more than 25% in the flocculant & coagulant market in 2019. The growing use of flocculant & coagulant chemicals in paper industry for the removal of suspended particles from water is driving the growth of flocculant & coagulant market. According to Environmental Paper Network (EPN), paper use is steadily increasing year on year and exceeded to 400 million tons per year in 2018. Furthermore, rising environmental concerns and strict government regulations to lower the use of polyethylene bags has escalated the demand of paper for packaging purposes, which in turn augments the growth of flocculant & coagulant chemicals. For instance, California government has introduced a regulation known as SB270 in July 2015 for prohibiting use of plastic bags at groceries, pharmacies, and other stores.

COVID-19 has badly impacted the flocculant & coagulant market. Coronavirus has disrupted the supply chain and e-commerce sector. Decrease in purchasing capital has direct impact on various industry growth, which in turn hampered the growth of flocculant & coagulant market. With the steep reduction in demand due to sudden stoppage of exports/imports and also domestic sales has hampered the growth of flocculant & coagulant market. The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has requested the government to announce relief packages for the textile and apparel sector to curb the crisis being faced by the textile industries. Hence, downfall of textile industry also reduces the demand of flocculant & coagulant chemicals.

Asia Pacific dominated the flocculation and coagulation market with a share of more than 35% in 2019 followed by North America and Europe. Rapid industrialization and treatment of wastewater generated from manufacturing plants is driving the growth of flocculant & coagulants market. India is the second-largest manufacturer and exporter of textiles and apparel with a share of 5% of global trade. Exports of textile and clothing products from India have increased from US$ 39.2 billion during 2017–18 to US$ 40.4 billion during the year 2018–19, registering a growth of 3%. According to National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, exports in the textiles and apparel industry are expected to reach $300 Bn by 2024-25 resulting in a tripling of Indian market share from 5% to 15%. Thus, growth of textile industry has increased the use of flocculant & coagulant chemicals for the filtration and aggregation of suspended particles present in wastewater. Furthermore, Asia is one of the largest producer of paper and increase in demand of flocculation and coagulant chemicals from paper industries is boosting the growth of market. According to the Trade Map, global import of pulp of wood and cellulose fibers was valued around $ 53,084,971 while china alone imported pulp of $19,240,368 in 2019.

Strict government regulations for the direct disposal of contaminated water is escalating the use of flocculation and coagulant chemicals in manufacturing industries. For instance, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the discharge and treatment of wastewater under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) issues permit to all wastewater dischargers and treatment facilities. Whereas, contaminated water also causes severe health problems including diarrhea, cholera, dysentery etc. Thus, increasing health concerns also boosts the growth of flocculation and coagulant market. Moreover, the Indian government policies such as “State Sewerage and Wastewater Policy” which frames guidelines for resource development and management, wastewater collection and treatment, onsite and offsite sanitation also aids the growth of flocculation and coagulants market. 

Increase in mining operations for the extraction of ores, minerals, coals etc. has resulted in water pollution. According to the USGS National Minerals Information Center, the U.S mines production grew by 3% reaching $82.2 billion of raw mineral materials in 2018 as compared to $79.7 billion in 2017. Water is used in mining for mineral processing, dust suppression and slurry transportation. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated that 4 billion gallons of water were withdrawn for mining operations in the U.S. in 2015, up 1% from 2010. Thus increase in mining operation has increased the use of flocculant & coagulant chemicals for the removal of suspended colloidal particles. Furthermore, government’s act and regulation such as Clean Water Act (CWA) in the United States that regulates the mining operations in and discharges of pollutants to streams also augments the growth of flocculant & coagulant market. 

The adoption of U.V technologies and RO water filtration whose purification efficiency is higher than flocculation and coagulant chemicals hampers the growth of flocculant & coagulant market. U.V and RO filters not only eliminates the suspended particles but also remove the harmful bacteria and pathogens. Although flocculant & coagulants are widely used in industries for effluent water treatment processes in solids removal, water clarification, lime softening, sludge thickening, and solids dewatering, but the cost and the need for accurate dosing of coagulants and frequent monitoring is a major challenge. Coagulants need accurate dosing equipment to function efficiently and the dose required depends on raw water quality that varies rapidly. 

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the flocculant & coagulant market report. In 2019, the market of flocculant & coagulant has been consolidated by the top 10 companies accounting for xx% of the share. Major players in the flocculant and coagulation market industry outlook are, BASF SE, Ecolab Inc., Solenis LLC, Solvay SA, Kemira Oyj, Buckman Laboratories International, Inc., Kurita Water Industries Ltd., Suez S.A., Feralco AB and Hengyang Jianheng Industry Development Co., Ltd., among others.