Membrane Consulting markets and technologies

Market Sectors Covered:

Municipal & Industrial Water and Wastewater Treatment, Reuse and Recovery and Industrial Process Filtration:

Market Sectors and Trends,

Product Capabilities and Trends,

Major Players and Competitors,

Geographic Nuances,

Economic Analysis and Evaluation,

Regulations and Certification

Technologies Covered:

MBR (Membrane Bio-Reactor),

UF (Ultrafiltration),

MF (Microfiltration),

RO (Reverse Osmosis),

NF (Nanofiltration),

FO (Forward Osmosis),

Membrane Contactors,

Emerging Technologies

When considering a new technology or product either by acquisition or in-house product development it is imperative to understand how that product will perform compared to the alternatives and how it will fit in the market. Let Nick help you to determine how viable your new initiative will be and what will be the best ways to market your developments.

'How big is the global membrane filtration market’ is often asked but unfortunately there is no consensus answer due to the highly fragmented nature of the market and the various definitions used to try and describe the market. Even local markets are highly fragmented, particularly industrial segments.

The filtration of milk or wine has little in common with the production of ultrapure water in a microelectronics facility or power plant, nor with the cleanup of oily waste water from a machine shop or an oil well.

Similarly the dynamics driving the large scale applications for hollow fiber Ultrafiltration in China are quite different from those in the USA which in turn is different from Europe.

Players, even large players, may be strong in one application or territory but virtually absent in another which can make it difficult to find strategic partners or to understand the competition.

Products which are well suited to one application are often incorrectly applied and fail in another seemingly similar application. This has necessarily led to the development of a plethora of products.

For example in the MBR (membrane bioreactor) waste water application there are three competing configurations (Flat sheet, hollow fiber and tubular), there are two main application methods for the membrane (submerged or side stream), and there are several membrane materials employed (PVDF, PES, PAN). There are single or double header designs, braided or self supporting membranes, continuous or intermittent aeration, single stack or double stack, stationary membrane or rotating membrane etc. Not to mention the fact that the same separation objective can potentially be achieved by using UF membranes as a tertiary polishing step after a conventional activated sludge plant, which begs the question, ‘which way is best’?

Before finalizing your strategy allow Nick to help you test assumptions, brainstorm alternatives or refine your conclusions by using over 20 years of know-how navigating the subtleties of the international water and waste water market and the membrane filtration industry.

If you are considering introducing a filtration product into the USA call Nick to discuss the best channel selection and to help you find the right partners.