Asia-Pacific is driving most of the growth in the global market for membrane technologies in the food and beverage processing industry.
BCC Research reveals in its new report that the region, which also holds the largest market share among all regions, should lead the global market with a five-year (2015-2020) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4 per cent.
Membranes for food and beverage processing technology are used as a physical barrier, a porous filter or a membrane to separate particles in a fluid. These particles are separated on the basis of their size and shape with the use of pressure and specially designed membranes with different pore sizes. Separation science is essential to the manufacture of food and beverage products. Evaporation, centrifugation, media filtration, distillation and solvent extraction are just a few of the traditional processes used in solid/liquid and liquid/liquid separations.
The global market should increase from about US$4.2 billion to US$5.8 billion in 2015 and 2020, respectively, reflecting a five-year CAGR of 6.7 per cent. Nanofiltration technology, the fastest-growing technology segment of the market with a five-year CAGR of 10.6 per cent, should reach US$82.2 million and US$136.1 million in 2015 and 2020, respectively. Nanofiltration membranes can remove virtually all cysts, bacteria, viruses and humic materials, as well as eliminate water hardness.
Microfiltration membrane technology, the largest segment of the market, should grow from US$1.6 billion in 2015 to US$2.2 billion in 2020, reflecting a five-year CAGR of 6.9 per cent, which also is the second-highest rate among all tech segments. A key segment driver is the growing emphasis on limiting the concentration and number of chemicals used during water treatment. By removing pathogens, microfiltration membrane filtration can significantly reduce chemical additives like chlorination.
"Overall, Asia-Pacific's market for membrane technologies for food and beverage processing is expected to rise from almost US$1.9 billion in 2014 to nearly US$2.1 billion in 2015 at a year-on-year growth rate of 7.2 per cent," says BCC Research analyst Aneesh Kumar.
"This regional market segment should grow at a five-year CAGR of 7.4 per cent to reach nearly US$3 billion in 2020. Frozen shrimp and frozen boneless beef are becoming increasingly popular in China, India, Korea and Japan, driving solid growth for membrane technologies in that region's food processing segment."
Membrane Technology for Food and Beverage Processing: Global Markets (MST030C) analyses the industry by technology, by type, and by end-user application.