United States Activated Carbon Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The United States activated carbon market is estimated to witness a healthy growth, at an estimated CAGR of over 3%, over the forecast period. Key factors driving the market growth include augmenting prominence for air pollution control. However, the market faces few challenges, such as narrower markets, due to increased costs of some grades of activated carbon, and the threat of substitutes, like silica gel and super sand.

• Conformance to stringent environmental regulations in water treatment application is expected to drive the growth during the forecast period.
• Emerging applications in the medical and pharmaceutical sector are likely to act as an opportunity in the future.

Key Market Trends

Emerging Applications in the Medical and Pharmaceutical Sector

• Activated carbon has several direct, as well as indirect applications, in the medical and pharmaceutical sector.
• Activated carbon is used to reduce cholesterol levels and treat cholestasis during pregnancy. It is used as an anti-flatulent before abdominal radiography procedures and after radiography. It is employed in the removal of radio-opaque dyestuff's that are discharged to the sewerage system.
• Another advantage of activated carbon in the medical field is its efficiency in solving over-the-counter stomach remedies, where it is incorporated as an active ingredient. For wound care, activated carbon is included in dressings for controlling odor, and in certain cases, to prevent sepsis.
• Owing to its superior adsorbing capabilities, activated carbon can be employed in cases where effective filtration systems are involved in pharmaceutical processing. Key factors in these cases are performance and purity. These factors help in reducing the contamination of the product, without affecting the pH value of the solution, while at the same time, ensuring soluble minerals with low-acid content.
• Owing to the growing usage of activated carbon in pharmaceutical applications, the market for the same has witnessed tremendous growth over the last five years and is expected to grow in the coming years.

Growing Demand from Industrial Processing

• Activated carbon in industrial processing is used for a variety of processes involving purification, recovery, and removal of substances at every stage of processing.
• Additionally, it acts as a catalyst to support industrial processes, like production and destruction of phosgene, production of glyphosate, and removal of mercaptan in petroleum distillates.
• In industrial processes, gas streams require purification to prevent the poisoning of downstream catalysts, or to meet specific requirements.
• Valuable solvents that may be lost from the discharge stack can be adsorbed onto activated carbon and then recovered using pressure swing or temperature swing (via steam or nitrogen) for reuse. Hence, there is a heavy requirement of activated carbon from such industrial processes.
• Increasing industrial activities have been observed in the United States. Therefore, the market of activated carbon in the industrial processing segment has the potential for growth.
• Therefore, considering the aforementioned factors, the demand for activated carbon is expected to rise from the country's’ industrial processing sector.

Competitive Landscape

The United States activated carbon market is consolidated, with the top five players accounting for around half of the market. The major companies include Cabot Corporation, Ingevity, PURAGEN ACTIVATED CARBONS, Kuraray Co., Ltd, and Donau Chemie AG, among others.

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