Liquid Waste Management Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Global Liquid Waste Management Market is projected to register a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

The market was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. During the pandemic scenario, the petroleum refineries units had cut their production throughput as the demand for fuel had been decreased by about 30% to 40% globally during the lockdown. For instance, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, with a refining capacity of 5 million barrels per day of crude oil, had cut its crude oil processing by about 30% to 40%, thereby had decreased the production of liquid waste at petroleum refinery sites. However, the demand for various pharmaceutical products had been increased during the pandemic situation, thereby enhanced the production of liquid wastes.

Key Highlights

• Over the short term, the increasing manufacturing activities that contain toxic chemicals thus leading to growing liquid effluent management activities and the growth in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry are expected to drive the market's growth.
• On the flip side, increasing technological challenges, stringent waste processing regulations, and unfavorable conditions arising due to the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to hinder the growth of the market.
• North America region represents the largest market and is also expected to be the fastest-growing market over the forecast period owing to the enactment of stringent norms pertaining to the management of liquid waste and the presence of activities related to oil and gas production.

Key Market Trends

Oil and Gas Segment to Dominate the Market

• The oil and gas industry is among the most profitable industries. It meets all the energy demand across various industries, households, transportation, and other sectors. The oil and gas industry is facing concerns regarding the environment, mainly with wastewater.
• The industry has a high rate of water consumption, as it generates a large amount of wastewater in various operations such as in hydrostatic testing water, which is consumed in the hydrostatic testing of pipelines to ensure pipeline safety and find any possible leaks. The process also includes the usage of chemical additives. Hence, hydro-test water should be treated before disposal into the sea or surface water.
• Furthermore, in the oil and gas industry, water is employed in technologies, like hydraulic fracturing. In this process, high-pressure water is used to open up the cracks or fractures into the tight formations of rocks permitting petroleum gas and unrefined petroleum to stream to a well for recovery. The water used in the process often gets contaminated, and it needs to be treated for either disposing of or for reuse.
• According to EIA, the global petroleum and other liquid fuel consumption was accounted for about 101.19 million barrels per day in 2019 and reached 92.17 million barrels per day in 2020, with a decline rate of about 8.9%.
• According to EIA, the production of dry natural gas in the United States was accounted for about 93.06 billion cubic feet per day in 2019 and reached 91.36 billion cubic feet per day in 2020, with a decline rate of about 1.8%.
• In refineries, the water consumption rate is very high for distilling crude into its various fractions, such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and kerosene. Several wastewater streams are coming out of refineries, which typically include desalter water generated from washing raw crude before topping, sour water from steam stripping, and fractionating that comes in contact with crude, process water generating from product washing, regenerating catalyst, and dehydrogenation reactions.
• According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the refinery throughput in the Asia-Pacific region was accounted for about 30.30 million barrels per day in 2019, with a growth rate of about 2.2% compared to the previous year.
• India is planning to invest USD 100 billion by the end of 2024 in refining, pipeline, and gas terminals. Additionally, Indian Oil has set a budget of about USD 27.29 billion to expand its refineries and expand the businesses over the next 5-7 years.
• Therefore, the factors mentioned above are expected to show a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

North America to Dominate the Market

• North America represents the largest market and is also expected to be the fastest-growing market over the period due to the enactment of stringent norms and the presence of activities related to oil and gas production.
• According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the production of crude oil and condensate in North America was accounted for 18.62 million barrels per day in 2019, with a growth rate of about 6.9% compared to the previous year.
• According to EIA, the average crude oil production in the United States was accounted for about 11.3 million barrels per day in 2020, down from 12.2 million barrels per day in 2019, and it is expected to reach 11.1 million barrels per day in 2021, and 12 million barrels per day in 2022.
• North America is the second-largest region in terms of petroleum refinery throughput. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, the refinery throughput in the North American region was accounted for about 18.98 million barrels per day in 2019, with a decline rate of about 1.3% compared to the previous year.
• Furthermore, the market growth is driven by the United States, owing to penetration in residential, commercial, and industrial segments driven by stringent environmental and disposal regulations in the country.
• Some of the liquid waste produced from the automotive industry include used motor oil, used brake oil fluid, and others. According to OICA, in 2020, around 14.45 million vehicles were sold in the United States compared to 17.04 million vehicles sold in 2019, witnessing a decreasing growth rate of about 15.2%.
• The liquid waste management market is very well regulated by agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). Several laws, including Environmental Protection Act, 1993, mentioned guidelines to be carried out by companies, including undertaking Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
• Therefore, the factors mentioned above are expected to show a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

Competitive Landscape

The global liquid waste management market is partially consolidated in nature, with a few major players dominating a significant portion of the market. Some major companies are SUEZ, Veolia, CLEAN HARBORS INC., Covanta Holding Corporation, and WM Intellectual Property Holdings LLC, among others.

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