The Global Activated Carbon Market Size Was Valued At USD 4.77 Billion In 2021. It Is Projected To Grow From USD 4.98 Billion In 2022 To USD 7.73 Billion In 2030, At A CAGR Of 5.6% During The Forecast Period.

Activated Carbons Market Overview:

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and shocking, and the demand for activated carbon has been higher than expected in all regions compared to levels before the pandemic. According to our research, the world market grew by 1.5% more in 2020 than it did in 2019.

Activated carbon, which is also called "activated charcoal," is used in many industrial applications, such as cleaning gas and air. Since people are becoming more aware of and concerned about the environment, strict emission rules have been made. This, in turn, has led a number of manufacturers to invest in new technologies and ideas for using the product in cleaning and air treatment, among other things. It is used more and more to clean water like drinking water, service water, groundwater, and wastewater.

The main job of the product is to get rid of dissolved organic impurities and substances that change the smell or taste of the water. The use of Activated Carbon Injection (ACI) technology has made the process of purification more cost-effective. Most cement kilns and power plants use these methods to cut down on mercury emissions. Growing pollution from the emissions that come from making products has been a major force driving the market..

Market Dynamics:

Latest Trends:

Activated charcoal is a great way to clean air and gas because it has a high ability to absorb a wide range of molecules, from smelly ones to ones that can cause cancer. It removes dangerous pollutants from the air in situations like personal safety and home air purification, making the air clean and safe to breathe. The product is also used to treat biogas and separate hydrogen. It cuts down on production costs by protecting engines, catalysts, and fuel cells from silicon dioxide, which can damage them, and by increasing output yields.

Most processing plants are supposed to cut down on the amount of dangerous or smelly compounds they put into the air. Activated charcoal air-treatment systems are one of the best ways to clean the air of both organic and inorganic compounds. A big health problem is being exposed to volatile organic compounds at work or at home.

Driving Factors:

The need for clean, safe drinking water is making more people want to buy this product. The market is growing because the product has a lot of available surface area for adsorption, which makes it easy to get rid of impurities like oils, microbes, substances that give off smells and tastes, and chemicals. For example, Carbon Activated Corp. offers industrial solutions, municipal groundwater filter systems in the U.S., and VOC/siloxane removal systems in biogas engines all over Europe. With the number of people growing at an exponential rate, there is also a high demand for freshwater, which has increased the need to clean water.

Since water pollution is getting worse, the government has had to make strict rules about how to treat wastewater from factories. Because of this, many industries, like paper and pulp, chemicals, paints and dyes, have added water treatment units to their facilities. This has increased the need for charcoal to remove pollutants from water.

Restraining Factors:

A risk to the growth of the market is that some raw materials, like charcoal made from coconut shells, are getting harder to find. Because of this, the prices of raw materials have gone up, especially charcoal made from coconut shells. Prices of goods made from coal have gone up because more energy is needed. Coal is used a lot in China for important things like making electricity, cement, and iron and steel. Because of this, there aren't enough coal grades, which are needed to make the product. But the drop in demand for coconuts has hurt the output of producers. This has led manufacturers to increase their production capacities by 50–60%, which has caused prices to go up.

Segmentation Analysis:

By Type Analysis:

Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) is the one that is growing the fastest because it is used in so many different industries, such as water treatment and air and gas purification. GAC in powdered form has bigger particles than GAC in its powdered form. This means that it can be used to remove contaminants from liquids, air, and gases. In the food and drink industry, GAC is used to remove impurities, smell, and colour from sweeteners, syrups, drinks, amino acids, and organic acids. It is also used to get rid of oil, industrial waste, heavy metals, and pesticides from wastewater. Granular form is also becoming more popular because it is easy to reuse and regenerate, which is good for the market as a whole.

ASTM says that the particle size of Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) is less than 0.177mm, so it has a higher ratio of surface area to volume. PAC is used to get rid of a wide range of organic contaminants that give wastewater, drinking water, and water used in industrial processes their colour, smell, and taste. It is also used to keep capital costs down in processes with a lot of liquid flow. So, the most important use of PAC is to treat water.

By Application Analysis:

In 2021, the market share for water treatment was the biggest, and it is expected to stay the biggest throughout the forecast period. The product is often used to remove organic compounds, compounds that make water smell or taste bad, toxic substances, and oils from water. It is used a lot because it is porous and has a big surface area for absorbing. The activated carbon market is growing because there is a growing need to treat water all over the world because natural resources are running out and there are more pollutants. Also, the strict rules that have been put in place to treat industrial wastewater are likely to help the segment grow.

In the food and drink industry, the product is used to get rid of contaminants like substances that give food a smell or colour, heavy metals, toxic parts, amino acids, and so on. It is also used to refine edible oil. The market is likely to grow because consumers are paying more attention to food safety and quality. Also, the product can be used in industries to recover different solvents, clean CO2 and waste gases, and control mercury vapour emissions, especially from power plants that run on fossil fuels.

Activated charcoal is used in medicine and health care to treat things like overdoses, poisoning, indigestion, and flatulence. The product will be in high demand in this market segment because of the way it absorbs.

Charcoal is also used to get rare metals out of old batteries, store energy, and make specialty chemicals. The growing need for energy has led to more energy storage devices being made, which has increased the amount of product used in batteries.

Regional Insights:

Asia Pacific was the most important part of the market in 2021, when it was worth USD 1.98 billion. It is expected to stay in the lead for the next few years because China and India are two of the biggest countries that use it, mostly for water treatment. The Asia-Pacific region's population is growing at a very fast rate, which means that there are more people who need clean, safe drinking water. This is increasing the demand for activated charcoal. The growth of the market is also likely to be helped by how easy it is to get raw materials and how cheap they are.

In North America, the U.S. led the market because there were more applications for cleaning water and air. Government rules about how to get rid of industrial wastewater and gas emissions have led to more people using this product to get rid of CO2, mercury vapours, and other harmful gases.

In Europe, strict rules and guidelines and government programmes to protect the environment have led to a rise in demand for applications like water treatment, mercury absorption, and air purification. Also, regulations have forced automakers to use activated charcoal to reduce the amount of pollution a car gives off. This is likely to give activated carbon in Europe a lot of chances to grow.

In the next few years, the market in Latin America is expected to grow a lot. The most important country in this area is Mexico. The market is expected to be driven by the growing use of these products in the water purification and pharmaceutical industries to remove smells and colors.

Scope Analysis

Recent Development:

• March 2021 – Cabot Corporation launches its ENERMAX 6 carbon nanotube series, which can improve battery performance at low loads and increase energy density in batteries. In addition, compared to existing CNT products, the DC internal resistance of the battery cell is lowered while using such a CNT load. It also achieves comparable conductivity of the electrodes, reducing the total load of conductive carbon additives.
• November 2020 – Cabot Corporation launched a unique styrene acrylonitrile based black masterbatch called PLASBLAK XP6801D. This formulation will serve the needs of the styrene market. This new product has excellent mechanical properties, UV resistance, and color development even at low concentrations. It also delivers the same performance with approximately 50% less material, reducing transport logistics, handling and other transport-related GHG emissions.

Market Segmentation

By Type:

• Powdered
• Granular
• Others

By Application:

• Water Treatment
• Air & Gas Purification
• Food & Beverage
• Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Treatment
• Others

By Companies:

• Osaka Gas Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Japan)
• Donau Carbon GmbH (Germany)
• Cabot Corporation (U.S.)
• PURAGEN ACTIVATED CARBONS (U.S.)
• CARBOTECH AC GMBH (Germany)
• Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Japan)
• KUREHA CORPORATION (Japan)
• Activated Carbon Technologies (Australia)
• Silcarbon Aktivkohle GmbH (Germany)
• Ingevity (U.S.)
• Iluka Resources (Australia)
• James Cumming & Sons (Australia)
• Universal Carbons (India)
• Carbon Activated Corporation (U.S.)
• Tronox (U.S.)
• Active Char Products (India)
• Adsorbent Carbons (India)
• Genuine Shell Carb (India)
• Indo German Carbons (India)
• Others