Report

The Australian water treatment chemicals market is expected to reach USD 430 million by the end of this year. The market is anticipated to register a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the chemical sector was negatively affected. Lack of resources, shortage of human resources, and other constraints significantly obstructed the expansion of the industry. The market recovered in 2021 and is expected to grow considerably in the coming years.

Key Highlights
Over the short term, rising ground and surface water pollution, growing demand from power and industrial applications, and government intervention in reliable wastewater management are expected to boost the market's growth.
However, the hazardous nature of hydrazine and emerging alternatives to water treatment chemicals are expected to hinder the market's growth.
Nevertheless, the shifting focus toward green chemicals is likely to create lucrative growth opportunities for the studied market.


Australia Water Treatment Chemicals Market Trends

Municipal End-user Industry to Dominate the Market


The supply of pure water to households is one of the chief requirements for all governments. The rising scarcity of potable water, coupled with the growing population and increasing water demand, is driving the demand for the water treatment chemicals market in Australia.?
Municipal wastewater is the water that is drained from toilets, showers, sinks, bathrooms, washing machines, and dishwashers, and liquid industrial waste. Municipal wastewater should be treated before it is released into the environment to avoid environmental damage and the spreading of harmful diseases. ?
The major treatment technologies include preliminary treatment, primary and secondary treatment, tertiary treatment, biological nutrient removal (BNR), resource recovery, and energy generation.
The Australian government established the National Water Grid Fund as a USD 2.5 billion-worth 10-year infrastructure program to fund water infrastructure investments. As part of its 2021-2022 budget, the government allocated funding to support new and improved projects. Australia spends an estimated USD 6 billion every year on water and wastewater treatment services.
Australia has a population of 26 million, and around 94% of the country's people are connected to the main water supply. There are around 300 urban water utilities in the country. Twenty-two utilities serve around 70% of the population. The smallest 200 utilities collectively serve 13% of the population, which is less than the number of customers of Australia's largest utility, Sydney Water.
Australia uses approximately 26,000 gigaliters of water per annum or 1.3 million liters per capita per annum. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Though it has access to less than 1% of the world's freshwater resources, the consumption of water in the country is among the highest in the world. Additionally, the growing Australian population is leading to a rise in the demand for water.
Also, around 85% of the population currently has access to more than 700 community sewage treatment plants. Nearly half of these are based on biological filters, about 170 are lagoons, and 45 are based on primary treatment. Most new plants are implementing activated sludge processes.
Hence, owing to the above-mentioned factors, the municipal industry accounts for a significant share of the market and is expected to fuel the growth of the market studied during the forecast period.


Corrosion and Scale Inhibitors�to Dominate the Market


Corrosion inhibitors are general-purpose chemicals that deal with corrosion in boilers. Corrosion occurs when oxygen reacts with metallic parts in a boiler to form oxides. Corrosion affects the metallic parts of the boiler, thereby increasing the costs of energy and maintenance. Corrosion inhibitors form a thin barrier layer over the exposed parts of the boiler. Scale inhibitors are used to remove scales through chemical processes.
Several types of corrosion inhibitors are used in water boilers. These include condensate line corrosion inhibitors, diethyl hydroxyl amine (DEHA), polyamine, morpholine, cyclohexylamine, and carbon dioxide corrosion inhibitors. A mixture of filming amines is used to prepare condensate line corrosion inhibitors. This can provide protection due to the presence of both high and low vapor/liquids.
DEHA is a volatile compound that is also an oxygen scavenger and acts as a metal passivating agent. Polyamine can be used in both low- and high-pressure boilers. Morpholine protects the boiler by increasing the pH level of the liquid. Cyclohexylamine is used in low-pressure boilers. Carbon dioxide corrosion inhibitor is used along with polyamine to control corrosion.
The aforementioned inhibitors are also used in cooling water treatments to ensure metal protection and prevent metal loss. The absence of these inhibitors may lead to critical system failures in recirculating water piping, process cooling equipment, and heat exchangers. Corrosion inhibitors are added to treatment systems to protect metals by reducing the corrosion potential associated with the cathode and anode of the corrosion cell.
The most serious form of corrosion occurs in cooling water treatment systems containing steel and copper alloys. Multi-phase processes, such as pretreatment, coagulation, flocculation, and corrosion control, occur during water treatment. Among these processes, the corrosion inhibitor is added after filtration to avoid fouling. As a countermeasure, corrosion inhibitors are added to prolong the service life of piping throughout a water distribution system.
Furthermore, corrosion inhibitors are among the key chemicals used in the oil and gas industry. Corrosion inhibitors are the backbone of a strong asset integrity program that keeps equipment failure rates in check. They are used to safeguard wells, pipelines, tanks, compressors, and practically every other type of downhole or surface equipment. Oil and gas producers, transporters, and refiners would suffer greatly if corrosion inhibitors were inaccessible.
The growing demand for solutions to avoid corrosion during processing across various end-user industries leads to the demand for corrosion inhibitors, which leads to the growth of the market studied.
Carbonates and bicarbonates form from calcium and magnesium chemicals dissolved in water. This residue matter gets deposited on the boiler surface and forms a hard coating known as scales. Scales block efficient heat transfer, create localized heating, and increase power consumption and maintenance expenses.
The most demand for scale inhibitors comes from the oil and gas and petrochemical industry, which is gradually recovering and is expected to impact the market studied.


Australia Water Treatment Chemicals Market Competitor Analysis

The Australian water treatment chemicals market is fragmented in nature. Some of the major players in the market include Veolia (Veolia Water Technologies), Ecolab, Solenis, SNF, and Ixom.

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