NEWS RELEASE APRIL 2012
Clarifiers and Centrifuges are the Largest Segments in the $7 Billion Gravity Separation Market
Clarifier sales in 2012 will be $3 billion while centrifuges will add another $2.8 billion to the total sedimentation/centrifugation market of $7 billion. This is the latest forecast in the Sedimentation/Centrifugation World Markets report published by the McIlvaine Company.
Sedimentation/Centrifugation Revenues 2012
($ Millions)
Subject 2012
Clarifier 3,021
Decanter 775
Disk 1,157
Dissolved Air Floatation 708
Hydrocyclone 459
Other Centrifuges 837
Total 6,957
The clarifier segment includes thickeners. These devices are used to remove the larger solids in wastewater plants. They are used for oil/water separation in the refining industry. They typically are used in conjunction with other separation devices.
Decanter centrifuges dewater sewage sludge, coal slurries, slaughterhouse effluent and many slurries. Disk centrifuges are used to clarify wine and juices and to purify pharmaceutical products. There are several other types of centrifuges using spinning baskets and other means for separating particles from liquids. Basket centrifuges separate valuable products in the chemical industry.
Dissolved air flotation is becoming increasingly popular in municipal drinking water plants to remove relative small particles. Another major use is in the purification of water used in de-inking of recycled paper.
Hydrocyclones are widely used in the minerals industry for separating particles from slurries. They are also used in conjunction with more efficient separation devices as a pre-separation step. They are rugged and can handle large solids loads. They lengthen the life of downstream separation devices. One big use is to separate gypsum particles from the liquid discharge in power plant flue gas desulfurization systems.
Asia represents the biggest market. Centrifuges are the frequent choice for many of the new sewage treatment plants being built in the region. Hydrocyclones are incorporated in the many new power plant scrubber systems underway in China.
Clarifiers are simpler to build. As a result, there are hundreds of suppliers in developing countries. Centrifuges are more complex. The result is that international suppliers such as Alfa Laval, GEA and Andritz enjoy most of the market.
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