Power Industry To Spend $4 Billion For Water And Wastewater Treatment Chemicals by 2010

The growth in the power market is due primarily to the switch from gas to coal as the fuel for new plants. Coal-fired plants are large purchasers of treatment chemicals whereas gas turbine plants are only modest users. There are other promising markets as well. The ethanol industry in the U.S. represents a high growth market for treatment chemicals.

In Asia there will be rapid growth in the sale of treatment chemicals in a number of industries. With millions of people moving from rural areas to cities, there is a boom in the construction of water and wastewater plants. Asia will increase treatment chemical purchases for wastewater plants from $1 billion in 2006 to $1.6 billion in 2010.

Asia will also increase its purchases of treatment chemicals for pulp and paper, refining, chemical, and electronics at a rate greater than the other continents.

Corrosion inhibitors will continue to be the leading product category with sales approaching $5 billion by 2010. Organic flocculant sales will rise to just under $4 billion in 2010. Other major categories are inorganic flocculants, scale inhibitors, pH adjusters and oxidizers and biocides. Relatively small segments include activated carbon, chelants, defoamers, and ion exchange resins.

One small category which will enjoy double-digit growth is in treatment chemicals for flue gas desulfurization systems in power plants. In addition to chemicals for solids removal and pH adjustment, there will be substantial expenditures for chemicals to remove mercury and selenium. China and the U.S. will purchase more than 50 percent of the chemicals for this application by 2010 due to large desulfurization programs in each of these two countries.