NEWS RELEASE MAY 2012
Dust Collector Filter Bag and Cartridge Market to Exceed $2.4 Billion This Year
Bags and cartridges are used to capture dust and purify stack gases. The market for these products will exceed $2.4 billion this year. The sales of filter media used in these elements will exceed $1.3 billion. This is the latest finding in the World Fabric Filter and Element Market published by the McIlvaine Company.
World Fabric Filter Revenues ($ Millions)
Subject 2012
Bags 2,439
Equipment 2,774
Media 1,364
Systems 6,102
The value of the media used in the elements is increasing for several reasons. First the market for high temperature bags is growing faster than for low temperature bags. The media represents as much as 80 percent of the total sales price in the very high temperature range and as much as 60 percent for somewhat lower temperatures such as found in asphalt plants and dry scrubber systems used in power plants.
The second reason is the trend toward pleated bags and the elimination of internal cages. The cost of the more expensive media is offset by the greater capacity and cage saving.
A third reason is the increasing use of membranes. They are supported by non-woven substrates. The membrane film improves the efficiency and cake release qualities. Regulations are increasingly becoming more stringent. The U.S. EPA based their costs for cement plants to meet the new metal toxic regulations on the replacement of conventional bags with membrane bags.
There are new challenges. The consent decrees which are stipulating the replacement of precipitators with fabric filters on coal-fired boilers burning high sulfur coal have resulted in maintenance problems. Sulfuric acid condenses on the bags and makes the cake sticky and difficult to remove. One solution is the injection of lime ahead of the dust collector.
The growth in the high temperature sector will be more than 8 percent per year. The increase will be in the power and cement areas. The U.S. and China will both be large markets over the next few years.
There are potential media developments which could nearly double the media market. Several companies are marketing ceramic non-woven filter media and bags which can operate reliably at 850oF. This would allow filtration to take place ahead of the selective catalytic reduction unit. An SCR operating on dust free gas can be half the size of one designed to operate in the dirty gas stream. Furthermore, the life of the catalyst increases from four years to more than ten years.
A combination dust filter and selective catalytic reduction bag is also now available. The active catalyst is attached to the surface of the ceramic fibers. This design has the opportunity to replace both the SCR and the precipitator with just one device. Furthermore, it would allow the downstream air pre heater to operate more efficiently. There is a potential 1 percent increase in energy efficiency.
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