Wellesley, Massachusetts, Jan. 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Water Filtration Sector Surges in Global Market for Nonwoven Filter Media,
Reports BCC Research
Wellesley, Mass., Jan 16, 2017 – Increasing consumer awareness of product safety, water purity, and air quality are driving new technology in the nonwoven filtration industry. BCC Research reveals in its new report that the development of nanofibers and their application in water filtration should drive that sector to leading levels.
Nonwoven filter media remove or separate solid, liquid or gas particles from a stream of air, gas or liquid by capturing the particles that come into contact with the surface of the engineered fibers.
The global market for nonwoven filter media should reach $4.6 billion and almost $6.5 billion in 2016 and 2021, respectively, growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%. By application sector, water filtration should grow from $981 million in 2016 to more than $1.4 billion by 2021, to become the largest sector, displacing transportation. Healthcare, the fastest-growing segment with a five-year CAGR of 8.9%, should total $847 million in 2021, up from 554 million in 2016.
In 2014 and 2015, necessary price increases of 20% were imposed on many nonwoven filter media products to compensate for falling synthetic fiber costs. The price increases have added about $860 million in business to the annual profits of the filter media supply chain. Other trends include rising demands for purer air and cleaner water, and the incorporation of fine fiber polyester spunbond nonwovens into more products. This latter trend has prompted new capacity investments worldwide. Sophisticated hybrid filter media that incorporate differing fiber types or fabric layer combinations are becoming more common in many sectors, as well.
Shifting patterns of economic prosperity also have affected the market. While North America and Western Europe total half of the global market, the rapid industrialization and rising incomes of China, India and other Asian countries are driving high growth. Indeed, by 2021, the dollar value of the Asia-Pacific market should approach the combined total of North America and Europe market values.
Water filtration is expected to become the largest application sector by 2021. According to UNESCO, approximately 900 million people lack adequate access to safe drinking water, indicating a key, sustained role for nonwovens and other filter media to help address this challenging global issue.
"The use of filter media as membrane support materials is an especially vibrant application in this segment, since world markets for membrane-based desalination, wastewater treatment and water recycling is increasing quickly," says BCC Research analyst Adrian Wilson. "At the same time, advances in technology—not least the development of nanofibers and the increasing commercialization of effective technologies for their manufacture—are seeing nonwovens getting ever closer to the performance of some membranes and offer cost advantages."
Nonwoven Filter Media: Technologies and Global Markets (AVM043F) analyzes nonwoven filter media manufacturing, its commercial applications, and global markets. The report review materials such as filter media manufactured by airlaid, wetlaid, spunbonding, meltblowing, and apertured films extrusion. Global market drivers and trends, with data from 2015, estimates for 2016X, and projections of CAGRs through 2021 also are provided.
About BCC Research
BCC Research is a publisher of market research reports that provide organizations with intelligence to drive smart business decisions. By partnering with industry experts worldwide, BCC Research provides unbiased measurements and assessments of global markets covering major industrial and technology sectors, including emerging markets. For more information about BCC Research, please visit
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@BCCResearch.