Membrane Separation Technologies Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027

Membrane separation or membrane filtration is a filtering technique applied to separate suspended solids and other particles from water or other media. The separation through membranes depends upon the membrane permeability, its concentration gradient, and the pressure with which the particles are passed through the membrane. Separation of large molecules, micro molecules, as well as ions and salts can be carried out using membrane separation techniques. The membrane separation technique offers a beneficial edge of low energy and low chemical requirements over the other separation and filtration techniques. With the declining freshwater and increasing liquid wastage around the world, there exists an anticipated need for recycling of water and efficient treatment of industrial wastewater to meet the industrial, commercial, and residential demands along with a sustainable impact on the environment. Also, the membrane separation technologies market has vast opportunities in the food and beverage processing industry since future economic growth of the food and beverage processing industry and a wide range of membrane separation applications like microorganism removal, dealcoholization, aroma recovery, volume reduction, selective fractionation, and other novel processing of ingredients in the food processing industry is expected to propel the membrane separation technologies market.



The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected the membrane separation technologies market as the demand for membrane filtration lowered with the temporal ceasing of operations in the food processing industry. Also, with the halt of industries, little to no wastewater was generated, resulting in the decline of membrane filter demand. As the COVID-19 restrictions worldwide were imposed, the reduced consumer buying of drinking water also impacted the operations of mineral water distributing companies, with a decline in the membrane separation technologies market for the food and beverage sector. However, the medical and pharmaceutical industry adopted high application of membrane filtration in developing methods to test N95 substitute masks, extract RNA and concentrate viral proteins from liquid media, leading to the growth of the membrane separation technology for the pharma sector.

Increasing freshwater demand and wastewater treatment needs

The growing population has called for increasing freshwater consumption to meet the daily hydration needs. With the shortage of freshwater availability, membrane filtration techniques like nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) are expected to surge to purify the water suitable for consumption. As per the 2019 United Nations World Water Development Report, the global water demand is expected to grow by 20 to 30% above the current water usage. Also, as per the press release of UNICEF in July 2021, only 81 percent of the population will have access to safe drinking water by 2030, leaving 1.6 billion without it. Also, the same release stated that only 67% of the people would have safe sanitation services compromising 2.8 billion, and only 78% of the population will have basic handwashing facilities, with 1.9 billion people deprived of the same. Additionally, the wastewater generated from industries is another detriment to the prospected global shortage of usable water. For instance, according to the February 2021 article by Utrecht University, 359 billion cubic meters of wastewater is produced each year, equivalent to 144 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. Also, the same article stated that 48% of wastewater is released untreated. With a growing demand for using water for drinking and hygiene purposes and the increasing wastewater generation, the market for membrane separation technologies is projected to grow substantially on a global scale during the forecast period and beyond.

Rising food awareness and innovations in the food and beverage industry

With the increasing awareness and information accessibility, the consumption patterns of the population are expected to shift toward healthier, nutritious, and cleaner food, leading to rapid innovations and research and development in the food and beverage industry. Also, with the increased demand for food, the applications of membrane separation technologies like microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) in various food categories like milk standardization, vegetable oil processing, gluten production, and so forth are projected to drive the market for membrane separation technologies. As per the September 2019 article by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the global demand for food will grow by about 70% to meet the need of more than 9 billion people. Also, with the rise of functional foods, the processing techniques in the food and beverage industry are expected to go through innovations to meet global standards. As per the May 2021 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, consumers have to face environmental pollution, stress, and societal and health risks in the 21st century, and functional foods have the potential to improve mental and physical health. Also, with innovations in the food and beverage industries, the membrane separation technologies market is expected to rise. For example, Nestle, in December 2020, launched a functional food, a milk product with ingredient combinations to support bone health, muscle strength, and joint functionality for enhancing mobility in ageing consumers. Such key developments in food processing and increasing demand for healthy foods are projected to drive the global membrane separation market substantially during the forecast period and beyond.

The Asia Pacific to see significant growth in the Membrane Filtration market

With the growing population and rising industrial activities, the Asia Pacific market is expected to see significant growth in the global membrane filtration technologies market. The food and beverage industry is also expected to surge in Asia leading to the growth of the membrane filtration market. As per the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India’s food processing sector is one of the world’s largest, with an expected output of USD 535 billion by 2025-26. Also, the same source stated that the Indian food industry is expanding at a CAGR of 11%, with the food processing sector accounting for 32% of the entire industry.

Market Segmentation:

By Membrane Material

• Cellulose Membrane
• Synthetic Polymer Membrane
• Mineral Membrane
• Hybrid Membrane
• Others

By Pore Size

• Microfiltration (MF)
• Ultrafiltration (UF)
• Nanofiltration (NF)
• Reverse Osmosis (RO)
• Others

By Application

• Drinking-Water
• Wastewater Treatment
• Food and Beverage
• Pharmaceutical
• Biotechnology
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• USA
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Others
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• UK
• Others
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Others
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Others