NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                                APRIL 2013

Scrubber Revenues to Exceed $2.6 Billion in East Asia Next Year

Industrial scrubber revenues will be close to $6.9 billion in 2014.  East Asia will be the leader with purchases of $2.6 billion. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets.

Scrubber Revenues ($ Millions)

These forecasts include all industries except power.  The scrubber purchases by the power industry are as large as the purchases for industry and are analyzed in a separate report. Wet scrubbers, dry scrubbers, adsorbers, absorbers and biofilters are all included in the forecasts. Dry scrubbers are frequently applied for HCl and SO₂ removal in waste-to-energy plants. Adsorbers and biofilters are used for removal of odors and noxious gases where the concentrations are relatively low. Absorbers are used where concentrations are high. Wet scrubbers, including the venturi and plate types, are used to remove both particulate and noxious gases. At one time nearly all foundry cupolas were equipped with scrubbers to capture the particulate emissions. Now, however, fabric filters are used where emission limitations are strict.

Ships burning bunker fuels are installing scrubbers and creating a very large market due to new emission standards. The oil and gas industry is greatly increasing its scrubber purchases as it moves from conventional to unconventional fuels.  Shale gas, coal-bed methane, tar sands and heavy oils all require scrubbers for removal of acid gases.

East Asia will account for 28 percent of the purchases in 2014.  One reason is the rapid infrastructure growth.  Municipal wastewater treatment plants use wet scrubbers, adsorbers and biofilters to remove H₂S and other odorous compounds. Mines use scrubbers to capture exhausts from smelting, pelletizing and material transfer.  There are also scrubbers used in the high technology industries where East Asia is also a leader.  Semiconductor plants use scrubbers to capture etching fumes and toxic materials released in the various wafer processing steps. Waste-to-energy plants in East Asia are typically equipped with scrubbers. There are even a few scrubbers in East Asian cement plants.

The industry has been comprised of many small companies, but there is a trend toward entry of the bigger companies.  DuPont purchased Belco and entered the market. It also acquired the Dynawave technology from Monsanto. Andritz has become active through acquisitions. Megtec recently purchased TurboSonics. Nederman purchased Mikropul last year.

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