Katrina Demonstrates
Market Growth for Reverse Osmosis Units
September 20, 2005
When gulf coast residents were left without a drinking water
source in the aftermath of Katrina, Tularosa Basin National
Desalination Research Facility sent its portable reverse osmosis
(RO) membrane purification system to Biloxi, Miss. to provide
drinking water to 40,000 local inhabitants. The unit can produce
200,000 gal per day of drinkable water from contaminated river
water or from seawater.
Ironically the big demand for these membrane purification
systems is where water is scarce. But in this case, too much
water in the wrong places created the need.
The Defense Department is steadily increasing its RO
capability to supply troops with drinkable water. There are also
major projects in the United States to build RO plants for
emergency situations. The House of Representatives has approved
legislation to help find a site for a desalination plant to
produce drinking water for the San Francisco Bay area.
The desalination plant could produce 60 to 80 million gal of
drinking water a day. That's enough water to supply about
500,000 to 600,000 people, but it would likely be used as a
backup supply during emergencies.
The sales of membrane systems worldwide will rise from $7
billion this year to $10 billion in 2009. These forecasts are
reflected in the most recent updates of RO/UF/MF World Markets,
an online forecasting service provided by the McIlvaine Co. of
Northfield, Ill.
The lack of fresh drinking water together with the high
incomes in the Middle East have resulted in a boom in the
construction of new membrane desalination plants. Saudi Arabia
is the third largest purchaser of RO membranes and equipment.
The U.S. and Japan are first and second.
Asia suffers from a lack of water resources as well as
contamination of available water. Unreliable municipal water
supplies have caused the middle and upper classes to purchase
home RO systems despite the $1,000 selling price of systems
offered in upscale department stores in major cities such as
Shanghai. By 2009, the RO equipment and membrane market in Asia
will exceed $2 billion per year.
One of the highest growth sectors for cross-flow membrane
systems is where filtration and biological treatment are
combined. Membrane bioreactors provide sewage treatment in a
compact system. There is double-digit growth in the use of these
systems for small communities, residential developments, and
resorts. Growth in the use of these systems to treat waste from
food processing plants is growing at 20% per year.
Source: McIlvaine Co. September
20, 2005 |