Gas Separation Membrane Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Gas Separation Membrane Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The gas separation membrane market is projected to register a CAGR of over 5.5% during the forecast period.

• COVID-19 significantly impacted the entire supply chain of the oil and gas industry, pharmaceutical industry, and biomedical devices industry, owing to strict lockdowns in several regions and thus negatively impacting the market for gas separation membranes. However, with the lifting of restrictions, the market is expected to gain pace with time and continue to grow during the forecast period.
• The primary factors driving the market include the rising demand for membranes in carbon dioxide separation operations and stringent government regulations governing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Plasticization of polymeric membranes in high-temperature applications, on the other hand, has significantly hampered market growth.
• The development of mixed matrix membranes and polymeric membranes and expanding applications are projected to open new potential in the market under consideration.
• Asia-Pacific is the largest market and is predicted to be the fastest-growing market throughout the projection period, owing to rising demand in China, India, and Japan.

• The global need for hydrogen is increasing in tandem with the growing demand for sustainable energy. Hydrogen is widely used in hydro-treating and hydrocracking for cleaner and higher-value fuels and in creating chemical products and electronics. The hydrogen-generation techniques produce residual gas streams or byproducts that contain a considerable amount of used compressed hydrogen. As a result, gas separation membrane modules are used to cheaply recover hydrogen from such gas streams while incurring the least amount of loss. These membrane modules achieve separations with hydrogen purities ranging from 90 to 99.9%.
• If operated at high enough temperature, hydrogen separation membranes can be used for hydrogen separation while at the same time directly converting natural gas via steam reforming reactions. In this way, methane conversion and hydrogen separation are carried out in a single component, facilitating downstream treatment processes. More important, the equilibrium shifting caused by continuous hydrogen removal enhances the degree of chemical conversion, increasing overall plant efficiency.
• According to the Global Hydrogen Outlook (GHO) by International Energy Agency (IEA), global hydrogen demand reached 94 Mt in 2021, a 5% increase in demand in 2020, driven mainly by the recovery of activity in the chemical sector and refining. Moreover, hydrogen demand surpassed its historical maximum of 91 Mt achieved in 2019.
• According to the European Commission (EC), hydrogen accounted for less than 2% of Europe's energy consumption in 2022 and was mostly utilized to generate chemical products such as plastics and fertilizers. 96% of this hydrogen was created using natural gas, which resulted in large CO2 emissions. They also proposed producing 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen and importing 10 million tons by 2030.
• The GHO by IEA also stated that in 2021, demand for new uses such as transportation, high-temperature heat in industry, hydrogen-based DRI, power, and buildings increased by 60% to reach roughly 40 kt H2, accounting for 0.04% of worldwide hydrogen demand. However, by 2030, hydrogen consumption will be over 180 Mt, with nearly half of the demand coming from new applications, including heavy industries, power generation, and hydrogen-based fuel manufacturing.
• From September 2021 till August 2022, nine governments have adopted a hydrogen strategy for a cleaner future. The total number of governments that have committed to adopting hydrogen as a clean energy vector in their energy system has increased to 26. To assist research and innovation in hydrogen technologies in Europe, the Clean Hydrogen Partnership (CHP) (a public-private collaboration) was founded in November 2021 as a successor to the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU).
• Public funding for hydrogen R&D observed its largest annual increase in 2021, with a 35% increase compared with 2020. Hydrogen technologies received around 5% of the total R&D budget for clean energy technologies. European countries mainly contributed to this increase, nearly doubling their expenditure.
• Thus, growing hydrogen production may augment the hydrogen recovery procedures in refining and petrochemicals application, boosting the demand for gas separation membranes.

• Asia-Pacific is expected to be the largest and fastest-growing market for gas separation membranes, owing to the region's increasing industrialization, which drives the market growth. The market's expansion is primarily driven by rising demand for carbon dioxide removal from reservoirs, rising need for sanitation and fresh water, increased urbanization, and higher living standards. Fast expansion and innovation, combined with industry consolidations, will likely drive significant growth in the region's market.
• Nonetheless, the oil and gas industry in China is one of the most important application industries for gas separation membranes. Over the last two decades, China has invested in increasing its refining capacity to support its expanding economy.
• Furthermore, for a long time, China has steadily increased its refining capacity for all types of crudes. According to the Institute for Energy Research (IEA), China is expected to have 20 million barrels of refining capacity by the end of 2025, resulting in an increased need for gas separation membranes in the coming years.
• Furthermore, China's crude oil output in 2022 was estimated to be about 204.6 million tons, a 3% increase over the same period last year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) China, the monthly output of crude oil in December 2022 was approximately 16 million tons, a 2.5% rise over the same period last year. Because gas separation membranes are widely employed in the oil and gas industry, from oil wellhead to oil recovery to the refinery, product demand will skyrocket in the near future.
• Even though India has a large power industry, the growing population coupled with rising electrification and increasing per capita usage will propel the industry size in the upcoming years. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), as of October 31, 2022, India's installed renewable energy capacity (including hydro) stood at 165.94 GW, representing 40.6% of the overall installed power capacity.
• Additionally, the increasing use of gas separation membranes to control CO2 emissions from industrial effluents is expected to have a positive impact. Strengthening government regulations to curb gaseous emissions is expected to fuel the demand for the product in the future.
• Furthermore, significant growth of natural gas production in the region may propel the demand for gas separation membranes in acid gas separation in the regional market.

The gas separation membrane market is partially consolidated in nature, with a few major players dominating a significant portion of the market. Some of the major companies are Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., UBE Corporation, Air Liquide, Evonik Industries AG, and Membrane Technology and Research Inc., among others.

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