Gas Separation Membrane Market Size, Share, Industry, Forecast and outlook (2024-2031)

Gas Separation Membrane Market is segmented By Material (Polyimide & Polyaramide, Polysulfone, Cellulose Acetate, Others), By Application (Nitrogen Generation & Oxygen Enrichment (Metal Manufacturing and Fabrication, Electronics, Oil & Gas Mining, Industrial Oxygen, Others), Hydrogen Recovery (Hydrogen Purification in Refinery, Syngas Process, Hydrogen Recovery from Purge Gas), Carbon Dioxide Removal (Natural Gas, Biogas, Vapor/Gas Separation, Vapor/Vapor Separation, Air Dehydration)), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2024-2031

Report Overview

Gas Separation Membrane Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period (2024-2031).

Increasing issues over global warming owing to the growing CO2 emissions are projected to be the primary aspect propelling the demand for gas separation membranes in the elimination of CO2. As energy costs rise, gas separation membrane technology is likely to play an increasingly important role in reducing the environmental impact and costs of industrial processes. On the other hand, the presence of strict government rules on the plasticization of polymeric membranes may hamper the market’s progress in the years to come. However, the diversification of end-use applications and new demand from applications such as wastewater treatment promises a promising outlook during the 2022-2029 period. Conventional technology like cryogenic distillation remains a distant competitor to its advancements, promising steady growth for market players. 

Market Summary

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Market Dynamics

Increasing demand for biogas

Biogas is the byproduct in the manufacture of biodiesel and ethanol formed by the anaerobic digestion of energy crops and organic residues. Methane produced by the rotting of crops and organic residues can either be burnt as gas or converted into electricity. Biogas can be effectively used as a versatile energy carrier and can fulfil the rising requirement for power, heating, and fuel. Extractions from biomass include gases such as methane, CO2, and traces of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and oxygen biogas. Because of its benefits, the coming years will witness an increase in the demand for biogas, which in turn, will drive the adoption of gas separation membrane technology to separate various gases from biogas.

However, technical disadvantages over the other gas separation technologies are likely to restrain the global gas separation membrane market. Currently, gas separation membranes are used only for moderate volume gas streams owing to flux and selectivity issues related to membranes. For large volume gas streams, membrane gas separation technology cannot compete with amine absorption technology, which is majorly used for carbon dioxide removal in natural gas, biogas, and others. Pressure swing adsorption technology is preferred for nitrogen generation & oxygen enrichment application over membrane separation technology owing to its higher efficiency. Pressure swing adsorption technology is less sensitive than the latter and is more reliable in harsh environments. High purity of 99.5%–99.9% is obtained by pressure swing adsorption technology, whereas, membranes are restricted to less than 95%. Additionally, the lifespan of pressure swing adsorption technology is much higher than that of membrane separation technology. These technical disadvantages are expected to hinder the gas separation membranes market.

Market Segmentation Analysis

The polyimide and Polyaramide segment is expected to dominate the global gas separation membrane market, by material.

The global gas separation membrane market has been segmented by material into polyimide and polyaramide, polysulfone, and cellulose acetate among others. The polyimide and polyaramide segments are expected to hold the highest market share in the year 2019. Owing to the superior selectivity & permeability, mechanical strength, high chemical and thermal stability and good film-forming properties of polyimide and polyaramide the gas separation membranes market is expected to grow during the forecast period.

In February 2020, the UAE government announced the discovery of new natural gas reserves between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The newly discovered gas reserves possess about 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and this discovery may certainly help the nation achieve its self-sufficiency in gas production. ​ With further increase in manufacturing activities and increase in natural gas exploration activities across the world, the demand for gas separation membrane is expected to increase over the forecast period.

Market Geographical Share

Asia Pacific is the largest market for gas separation membrane with a share of nearly XX% in 2020

By geography, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the global gas separation membrane market in the year 2020, growing with a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to account for the largest and the fastest-growing market for gas separation membrane, attributed to growing industrialization in the region, which, in turn, boosts market growth and increases the demand for energy-efficient and cost-effective gas separation techniques. This growth is driven mainly by the rising demand for carbon dioxide removal from reservoirs, increasing demand for sanitation and freshwater, increasing urbanization, and improved standard of living. Rapid growth and innovation, coupled with industry consolidations, are expected to lead to the rapid growth of the market in the region. Furthermore, significant growth of natural gas production in the region may propel the demand for gas separation membrane in acid gases separation in the regional market.

North America is expected to hold a significant market revenue share of XX% in the year 2020. The separation of gases consumes 4500 trillion Btu of energy per year in the United States, which is approximately 22% of all in-plant energy use. Distillation is associated with much of this energy consumption. Over 40,000 distillation columns are used for over 200 different separations in the United States, which accounts for 49% of industrial separation energy consumption. Other separation processes include absorption, crystallization, and membrane separations. Of these processes, membranes are attractive because they do not involve sorbents and do not require a thermal driving force to separate mixtures. Hence, industrially, membranes are currently used for acid gas removal, nitrogen enrichment, refinery gas purification, ammonia purge gas recovery, oxo-chemical synthesis, and dehydration which is the major driving factor of the gas separation membranes market in North America and particularly in the US.

Companies and Competitive Landscape

The global gas separation membrane market is highly fragmented and competitive. The rivalry among the leading participants, such as Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Honeywell UOP, Air Liquide Advanced Separations, DIC Corp., and Membrane Technology and Research Inc., will intensify this competition further. These participants have been depending on technological developments of their products for the growth of their businesses. They are also focusing on new product launches and involved in strategic collaborations to improve their visibility, worldwide. Over the coming years, these companies may expand their bases in emerging countries, especially in Asia. For instance, Air Products and Chemicals announced its plans to build a new large scale gas separation facility dedicated to the production of liquid nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. This new unit, being constructed in Minnesota, will begin functioning properly by the mid of 2020. With this expansion, the company hopes to provide reliable liquid industrial gas options for consumers and distributors in the U.S. region. In September 2018, Honeywell acquired Ortloff Engineers, Ltd., (US), which is a leading developer of specialized technologies for natural gas processing and sulfur recovery. This acquisition will help the company to expand its capabilities to maximize customer returns on gas processing and oil refining investments. In February 2018, Air Liquide Advanced Separations invested USD 170 million for the construction of the Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Secunda with a production capacity of 5,000 tonnes of oxygen per day. This investment will enable the company to supply liquid gases to the growing industrial gas market in South Africa.

COVID-19 Impact on Market

The global market for gas separation membranes is severely impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a decline in the economic growth in almost all the major countries, thus affecting consumer spending patterns. Owing to the lockdown implemented across various countries, national and international transport has been hampered, which has significantly impacted the supply chain of numerous industries across the globe, thereby increasing the supply-demand gap. Thus, insufficiency in raw material supply is expected to hamper the production rate of gas separation membranes, which negatively impact the market growth.