Antiscalant Market

Antiscalant Market Overview

Antiscalant market size is forecast to reach $3.2 billion by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2022-2027. The main driver of this market is the increasing demand for antiscalants from end-use industries such as oil & gas, power, mining, and water treatment due to their superior properties and cost savings. Antiscalants are becoming a popular method of cleaning and purifying water in different industries due to their ability to extend the life of RO systems. However, a major factor hindering the demand for antiscalants is environmental issues associated with the chemicals used in the formation of antiscalants.

The emergence of COVID-19, which is declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, is having a noticeable impact on global economic growth. According to the International Monetary Fund, the global GDP is expected to decline by 3% in 2020. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), global trade volumes are projected to decline between 13% and 32% in 2020 as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the operations of various industries globally. As a result of the current scenario, several industries such as chemical and oil & gas firms across regions have to shut down their production facilities and services as countries have adopted partial or absolute lockdown policies to deal with the pandemic. Companies throughout the world have also halted or postponed large oil and gas ventures. The decline in production activities further negatively affected the demand for antiscalants over the short to medium term.

Report Coverage

The report: “Antiscalant Market- Forecast (2022-2027)” covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Antiscalant Industry.

By Type: Organic and Inorganic.

By Product: Carbonates, Phosphonates, Sulphates, Fluorides and ohers.

By Method: Threshold inhibition, Crystal modification and Dispersion.

By End Use Industry: Oil & Gas, Mining, Water Treatment, Pharmaceutical, Agriculture, Chemical Industry, Food & beverages, Power Generation Industry, and others.

By Geography: North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and RoW.

Key Takeaways

• Asia Pacific dominates the antiscalant market, owing to the flourishing chemical industry in the region. Increasing per capita income coupled with the increasing population are the key factors driving the chemical industry in the Asia Pacific region.
• Over the last few years, growing penetration of phosphonate-based products into scaling and membrane systems would have a positive effect on the growth of the demand for antiscalant for wastewater treatment.
• Rapid urbanization and rising industrialization have contributed to an increased need for energy and cost-effective clean water supply solutions. As antiscalants act as a cost-effective solution for wastewater treatment and coal gasification plants, this will further drive the product demand.

Phosphonates segment held the largest share in the antiscalants market in 2020, as it is widely used for water treatment solutions using corrosion and scale inhibitors, as well as iron sequestrants. By integrating multiple functions in one molecule, phosphonates provide efficacy at low concentrations. These are also utilized in the manufacture of bleaching agents as a stabilizer. Phosphonates antiscalants are oxidized by hydrogen peroxide and ozone. Higher phosphonate oxidation results from the coordination of the phosphonate with dissolved calcium ions. Sulfonates also held a significant share and, owing to their growing use in the seawater treatment sector. For the desalination of seawater resulting in precipitation, sulfonates are commonly used. This has contributed to its rising penetration in the sector of seawater treatment. Offshore oil and gas facilities that require antiscalants for seawater desalination have also experienced an increase in demand.

Oil & gas industry held the largest share in the antiscalant market in 2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period from 2022-2027. Antiscalant is used at various stages in oil and gas industry, from the extraction of crude oil to its refining. According to the International Monetary Fund, by 2023, oil demand will reach 104.7 mb/d, up by 6.9 mb/d from 2017. According to the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, in U.S and Canada, a total of $791 billion investments in new oil and gas infrastructure will be made from 2018 to 2035. Therefore, this growth is expected to drive antiscalants demand. In the chemical industry, anticsalants are often used as they help extract scale formations from the water, thereby streamlining the process. Antiscalants is used as specialty chemicals by most refineries and chemical firms. Antiscalants are commonly used in the transport of pipelines, desalination systems, membrane treatments, and water treatment applications.

The Asia-Pacific region held the largest share in the antiscalant market in 2020, up to 30%, owning to the rising chemical industry, the increasing reach of oil & gas exploration and production and the availability of low-cost labor in the region. The increasing population and per capita income are increasing the chemical industry in the region. According to the European Chemical Industry Council or Cefic, with €1,198 billion in 2018, China was the largest chemical producer in the world, contributing 35.8% of global chemical sales in 2018. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) accounted for 42.8% of global chemical sales in 2018. Six countries out of the top 10 biggest producers are Asian generating chemical sales of €1,886 billion - 51.5% of the world market. According to Invest India, the Chemicals & Petrochemicals market is projected to reach $300 bn by 2025. Thus, with the flourishing chemical industry, there will be an upsurge in the demand for antiscalant.

Antiscalant Market Drivers

Increasing demand from water treatment industry.

Demand for water consumption is increasingly growing for both urban and industrial purposes, as there is a global scarcity of water supplies. Water & wastewater is handled by municipalities and industries to comply with strict government regulations. Scaling is one of the common issues faced globally by most water-treatment firms. The majority of the scale fouling is observed during membrane procedures. Antiscalants is one of the specialty chemicals that can be used by water treatment companies to solve this issue. By reducing the cost and time of cleaning and maintenance, the use of antiscalant maximizes process efficiency, which is estimated to benefit the antiscalant market. Antiscalants are commonly used for desalination, membrane treatment, pipeline transport, and refining of water. These are also widely used to avoid mineral scaling problems in RO membrane systems. It is a chemical substance injected into the feed water until it is allowed to flow into the RO membrane with the feed water. By delaying the reaction time between magnesium and calcium, the infusion of antiscalant prevents the formation of scales, enabling the RO systems to purify water.

Antiscalant Market Challenges

Environmental issues related with antiscalants

Despite the essential efficacy of antiscalants, their use is increasingly correlated with many operational and environmental issues, such as membrane fouling of antiscalants and enhancing the formation of biofilm. Concentrated streams of rejected antiscalant compounds are often released into the water bodies and there are still uncertain acute and long-term effects on marine and aquatic environments. Therefore, these factors may restrain antiscalant market growth. In addition, the growing concern about the use of inorganic substances, especially in the food industry, is expected to be another limiting factor for the demand for organic antiscalants. Further treatment of traces in food and beverage products, resulting in additional cost increases, could lead to a restriction of the antiscalant market.

Antiscalant Market Landscape

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Antiscalant Market. In 2020, the market of Antiscalant Market has been consolidated by the top five players accounting for xx% of the share. Major players in the Antiscalant market includes Clariant AG, Kemira Oyj, General Electric Co., The Dow Chemicals, and Solvay SA among others.


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