According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 780 million people worldwide don’t have access to a clean water source. Furthermore, contaminated water consumption is attributable to the death of 801,000 children under 5 years of age. This is creating a dire need for water purification in which activated carbon is prevalently used as an absorbent. The absorption characteristic of activated carbon makes it useful in a gamut of applications owing to which the activated carbon market witnessed an impressive valuation of $3.560 billion as of 2018, and the demand for the same is poised to escalate at a profitable CAGR of 6.18% during the forecast period 2019-2025.
APAC houses a myriad of industries, especially in the chemical sector, and the water treatment industry is booming in the region due to the regulations enforced by the governments in countries such as China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Furthermore, the rampant construction in APAC is boosting the metal recovery market in the region, which utilizes activated carbon, because it minimizes waste and the usage of chemicals and resins. APAC had the largest activated carbon market share of 40% in 2018.
Activated Carbon Market Outlook:
Activated carbon or activated charcoal comes in various forms that include granular activated carbon, extruded activated carbon, bead activated carbon (BAC), impregnated carbon, polymer-coated carbon, and woven carbon. Major applications of activated carbon is in metal recovery, water treatment, and air treatment.
The key application for the activated carbon market players is in the water treatment industry wherein it is used in the powdered form, and the process is called powdered activated carbon treatment (PACT). Due to growing industrialization and incorporation of wastewater treatment plants for Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) or discharge of bilge water into the environment, the activate carbon market will observe more growth prospects. As mentioned above, activated carbon is also used as absorbent in water purification in order to acquire potable water. The application of activated carbon in water treatment industry is poised to witness a gainful CAGR of 8.95% through to 2025.
Activated Carbon Market Growth Drivers:
The Application of Activated Carbon in Air Purification
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 97% cities in the low and middle-income countries with as much as 100,000 residents fail to meet the WHO air-quality criteria, and percentage of the same in developed countries is 49%. This is leading to opportunities in the air purification sector as air purifiers are incorporated with activated carbon which absorbs air-contaminants, thereby improving the quality of air and bringing the content of particulate matter in the air to an acceptable level. The application of activated carbon in air purification is increasing revenues in the activated carbon market.
The Application of Activated Carbon in Metal Recovery
Carrboro is a form of activated carbon which is used in the recovery of some precious metals such as silver and gold. When gold is dissolved in the cyanide solution, the solution passes through activated carbon, and the gold is trapped in the micro-pores of activated carbon. Similar process is executed for silver recovery. The application of activate carbon in recovery of precious metals largely supports the activated carbon market.
Activated Carbon Market Trends
In November 2018, Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. acquired ADA Carbon Solutions, LLC – a company that has leadership in North America activated carbon market.
In March 2018, Kuraray Co. Ltd. acquired Calgon Carbon Corporation and gained a prominent global presence in the activated carbon market.
The current situation water and air pollution across the globe is making companies venture into the activated carbon market, and acquisitions have become a trend. The upcoming years will witness more companies striving to expand their customer base, and therefore, there is a possibilities of more acquisitions.
Activated Carbon Market Key Players Perspective
The major players ahead of the curve in the activated carbon market are Haycarb PLC, Kureha Corporation, Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc., Carbon Activated Corporation, Jacobi Carbons AB, MeadWestvaco Corporation, Carbon Resources LLC, Clarinex Group, Cabot Corporation, and Kuraray Co. Ltd.
