Abstract
Continued rapid growth anticipated through 2013
The very word "desalination" usually triggers thoughts of oil-rich, water-poor
countries in the Middle East. And while it is true that several such countries
-- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait -- are among the largest
markets for desalination, there are desalination facilities in more than 100
countries. The continued proliferation of desalination facilities has created
a global market of more than $8 billion, with continued rapid growth
anticipated.
Thermal processes limited to energy-rich markets
The most traditional techniques for desalination have involved thermal
processes. The most common contemporary thermal processes, multi-stage flash
(MSF) distillation and multiple-effect distillation (MED), are highly reliable
and capable of producing remarkably pure water from the saltiest seawater
sources. However, these techniques -- especially MSF -- consume large amounts
of energy. These techniques tend to be economically viable only when water
shortages are most severe and when local energy supplies are abundant -- such
as in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and a few other countries in the region.
Elsewhere, shortages of quality water can also be daunting. This is true in
China, Spain, Australia and parts of the United States -- where populations
have outgrown native water supplies or local water supplies contain so much
salt and other dissolved solids that they are not fit for use. These
difficulties are perhaps most severe in Middle Eastern and North African
nations not endowed with plentiful oil and gas reserves but beset with
similarly arid conditions and lack of indigenous water supplies.
Membrane-based methods to outpace other techniques
Membrane-based technologies are growing more rapidly than the overall
fast-growing desalination market. Membrane systems have been the technology of
choice for brackish water desalination in the US, Europe and elsewhere.
Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is expected to be one of the fastest growing
niches in the global desalination market for a number of key reasons. First,
the US, Spain, China, Australia and several other countries are using more
seawater as the source water for desalination processes. Most of the largest
municipal facilities in these countries will be using membrane-based
techniques. Second, many countries in the Africa/Mideast region -- such as
Algeria, Israel and Saudi Arabia-- are relying on membrane desalination to
supply their growing water needs.
RO, MED desalination to register fastest growth
Overall, RO (reverse osmosis) and MED techniques are expected to account for a
large majority of new capacity, and the products used in conjunction with
these technologies are projected to register the fastest growth. Technological
improvements to membranes extending their functional lives and reducing their
vulnerability to fouling will drive demand for RO systems, and for the
membranes, pretreatment filters, chemicals and other products used in these
systems. Growth for MED systems -- including evaporators, pumps and other
products -- will be driven by improved energy efficiency, especially when
compared with MSF. Energy cost reductions via the use of energy recovery
systems and plants designed to use power plant waste energy will also serve to
make desalination systems more economically feasible.
Study coverage
This new Freedonia industry study, World Water Desalination, presents
historical demand data (1998, 2003, 2008) plus forecasts for 2013 and 2018 by
application, product, market, world region and for 16 countries. The study
also considers market environment factors, assesses industry structure,
evaluates company market shares and profiles industry competitors.
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