Desalination Pumps Market to Reach $500M In 2014

Nov. 26, 2013

High-pressure pumps needed for reverse osmosis are an order of magnitude more expensive than those used for drinking water transport.

The market for pumps, valves, filters and chemicals used in desalination is expected to exceed $4.7 billion in 2014 based on research by the McIlvaine Company.

Product

2014 Revenue

($ Millions)

Water Treatment Chemicals

700

Pumps

500

Valves

350

Liquid Macrofiltration

90

Cartridges

60

Sedimentation and Centrifugation

50

Cross-flow Membrane Equipment and Replacement Modules

3,000

Total

4,750

Treatment chemical cost averages 0.03$/m3 of capacity in seawater, reverse-osmosis (RO) systems, and 0.02/ $/m3 in thermal systems. There is substantial use of scale inhibitors in thermal systems, while acids and antifoams are used in MSF (multi-stage flash) systems. Cleaning chemicals can be a substantial investment where RO is employed.

RELATED: Steady Demand for Sanitary Pumps in North America

The amount of water being pumped in desalination systems is presently only about 1 percent of the amount being pumped for all the world's drinking supplies. On the other hand, the high-pressure pumps needed for reverse osmosis are an order of magnitude more expensive than those used for drinking water transport.

Thermal systems require pumps for a number of processes:

•         Seawater intake pumps

•         Brine recirculation pumps

•         Brine blow-down pumps

•         Distillate extraction pumps

•         Condensate extraction pumps

•         Product forwarding pumps

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