NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    NOVEMBER 2012

$6.6 Billion Scrubber Market Next Year

Suppliers of scrubbers, absorbers, adsorbers and biofilters can anticipate a $6.6 billion market next year. The largest purchasing segment will be waste-to-energy plants. This is the conclusion reached in the latest revisions to Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.

Scrubber Adsorber Revenues ($ Millions)

The forecasts exclude purchases by coal-fired power plants. The reason is that this one application generates revenues equal to all the others and is, therefore, treated separately. Another reason is that the participants in the coal-fired power plant segment are mostly both suppliers of complete generation systems as well as scrubbers.

The industrial scrubber market is served by thousands of small companies. Some concentrate on just one type of equipment e.g. biofilters or dry scrubbers. Others are focused on specific industries. DuPont, for example, is focused on the refining and waste-to-energy markets. A number of companies focus on odor control for wastewater treatment and food plants.

There are some promising new markets. One is for vessels which are burning low quality fuels. They will have to install scrubbers or switch to cleaner fuels. The fuel cost differential is sufficient to justify more than $1 billion needed to install the SO₂ capture systems.

The developing countries are the largest customers for scrubbers and absorbers. One reason is the expansion of industry. Steel, chemical, mining and other heavy industries need scrubbers for furnaces, kilns and material processing. Another reason is that scrubbers are also used for particulate capture in developing countries. Fabric filters have captured most of the particulate applications in the developed countries. The cost is higher, but so is the efficiency. So, a steel furnace in a developing country is likely to utilize a venturi scrubber, whereas a similar furnace in a developed country would use a fabric filter.

For more information on Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com//brochures/air.html#n008