Membrane Separation Technology Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the membrane separation technology market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global membrane separation technology market reached a value of nearly $24.2 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $24.2 billion in 2023 to $38 billion in 2028 at a rate of 9.4%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2028 and reach $60.9 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the strong economic growth in emerging markets, increased government support, growth in the pharmaceutical industry and expansion of the food and beverages industry. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was lack of skilled workforce.

Going forward, growing industrialization, rising water scarcity globally, increasing environmental concerns, increasing population density and urbanization and rising demand for wastewater treatment will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the membrane separation technology market in the future include high initial investment.

The membrane separation technology market is segmented by process into microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and other processes. The reverse osmosis market was the largest segment of the membrane separation technology market segmented by process, accounting for 38.7% or $9.4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the microfiltration segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the membrane separation technology market segmented by process, at a CAGR of 10.8% during 2023-2028.

The membrane separation technology market is segmented by type of material into polymeric membranes and non-polymeric membranes. The polymeric membranes market was the largest segment of the membrane separation technology market segmented by type of material, accounting for 71.8% or $17.4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the non-polymeric membranes segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the membrane separation technology market segmented by type of material, at a CAGR of 9.6% during 2023-2028.

The membrane separation technology market is segmented by application into water and wastewater treatment, food and beverage processing, medical and pharmaceutical, industry processing and other applications. The water and wastewater treatment market was the largest segment of the membrane separation technology market segmented by application, accounting for 47.8% or $11.6 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the food and beverage processing segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the membrane separation technology market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 11.2% during 2023-2028.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the membrane separation technology market, accounting for 37.6% or $9.1 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the membrane separation technology market will be North America and Asia Pacific where growth will be at CAGRs of 10.4% and 9.9% respectively. These will be followed by Western Europe and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 9.5% and 7.1% respectively.

The global membrane separation technology market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 12.81% of the total market in 2022. Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation was the largest competitor with a 3.63% share of the market, followed by Toray Industries Inc. with 1.88%, 3M Company with 1.34%, Danaher Corporation with 1.26%, DuPont with 1.20%, Merck Group with 1.05%, Suez SA with 0.97%, GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft with 0.60%, Nitto Denko Corporation with 0.47%, and Pentair PLC with 0.40%.

The top opportunities in the membrane separation technology market segmented by process will arise in the reverse osmosis segment, which will gain $4.8 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the membrane separation technology market segmented by type of material will arise in the polymeric membranes segment, which will gain $9.7 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the membrane separation technology market segmented by application will arise in the water and wastewater treatment segment, which will gain $6.4 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The membrane separation technology market size will gain the most in the USA at $3.5 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the membrane separation technology market include product launches aimed at water purification and waste treatment, strategic partnerships and collaborations among market players, introduction of noble membranes for efficient hydrogen recovery and purification and development of new production plants for gas separation membranes.

Player-adopted strategies in the membrane separation technology market include focus on product launches aimed to cater the pharmaceutical sector and improving portfolio through launch of carbon dioxide (CO2) separation membrane with a dual all-carbon structure and multi-capillary PES In-Out Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends membrane separation technology companies to focus on innovating membrane separation technologies, focus on innovating noble membranes for enhanced hydrogen recovery, focus on expanding production capacity for gas separation membranes, focus on microfiltration segment, focus on non-polymeric membranes segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships for geographic expansion, focus on pricing strategy optimization, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on end-user engagement and focus on food and beverage processing and medical and pharmaceutical segments.