Ultrapure Water Market to Grow 32% By 2015

Coal-fired power plants and electronics manufacturers will be the leading purchasers. This is the latest forecast in the McIlvaine Ultrapure Water World Markets.

The market in Asia will grow from $2.3 billion to $3.3 billion during the period and will account for virtually all the growth in the market. China is installing more coal-fired power plants than the rest of the world combined. India is the second largest purchaser of new coal-fired power plants.

Taiwan, South Korea and China are leading the way in the electronics sector. They are installing more wafer fabrication facilities than the ROW. Asia dominates photo voltaic manufacture and accounts for most of the flat panel manufacturing. A large semiconductor plant needs very pure water to wash the chips after each manufacturing step. The majority of the new coal-fired power plants in China use super critical steam pressures and temperatures. This in turn also demands very pure water.

The one industry which still is expanding in Europe and the U.S. is the pharmaceutical industry. Water for injection (the water mixed into injectable drugs) also requires very pure water.

To manufacture ultrapure water it is necessary to use highly efficient reverse osmosis, membrane degasification, ion exchange resins, membrane cartridges, expensive piping, pumps and valves. There is a big demand for more accurate water quality measuring equipment. New optical dissolved oxygen analyzers by In-Situ and others are replacing electrochemical devices.

Many international companies are active in this field. Siemens, GE, Pall, Millipore, Emerson, W.L Gore, Swan, Hach and Mettler Toledo have a worldwide presence.

The industry technology is not static. Electricity generators are moving from super critical to ultra supercritical designs. Semiconductor manufacturers continue to place more memory on each chip, decreasing the line sizes. These advances increase the water purity requirements.