ID :
15325
Fri, 08/08/2008 - 12:25
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/15325
The shortlink copeid
Water Treatment Biz Booming, Japan Firms Enjoying Big Share
Tokyo, Aug 8 (Jiji Press)- At a time when rapid global population growth and climate change are causing fears about serious future wager shortages, Japanese companies are vigorous in the water treatment business such as seawater desalination and wastewater recycling.
In the global market of reverse osmosis membranes, a kind of very fine filters often used at large-scale water treatment facilities in the Middle East, Japanese manufacturers, including Toyobo Co., Toray Industries Inc. <3402> and Nitto Denko Corp. <6988>, hold a combined share of as much as 70 pct.
Among the Japanese firms, Toyobo has strength in the technology to desalinate seawater from enclosed coastal seas like the Red Sea where bacteria grow quickly.
Although the speed of desalination is comparatively slow, Toyobo's originally developed hollow fiber membranes feature a disinfection technology to prevent bacteria-caused clogging.
Toyobo's membranes have been adopted for use at one of Saudi
Arabia's biggest seawater desalination plant located in the Red Sea coastal city of Shuqaiq. The plant is capable of supplying 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
Toyobo aims to expand its membrane business in the Middle East where a remarkable demand growth is anticipated, said Executive Officer Kazuo Kurita, pointing out a number of desalination plants there are having clogging problems.
Meanwhile, manufacturers of mainstream flat membranes, including Japan's Toray and Nitto Denko as well as Dow Chemical Co. of the United States, are in intense competition to improve the speed of desalination and the desalting rate.
Toray has clinched deals to supply its membranes to wastewater recycling facilities in Kuwait and Singapore, while Nitto Denko recently received an order to supply its membranes to a seawater desalination plant in Tianjin, China.
Dow Chemical has announced a plan to boost its reverse osmosis membrane production by 25 pct.
Although earnings from the water treatment business currently account for only a small proportion of these membrane makers' total sales, future growth prospects are driving them into an intense development race.
In line with the population increase in developing countries, water shortages are seen to inevitably become serious on a global basis, and demand for water treatment is expected to steadily expand in the future as a result.
According to a U.N. report, 1.1 billion of 6.5 billion people living on Earth are already suffering from the lack of drinking water. The United Nations warns that by 2050, the threat of water shortages could spread to as many as 7 billion people in 60 countries.
As water shortages are becoming a problem not only in the Middle East but also in Europe, Asia and Oceania, seawater desalination and wastewater treatment are drawing keen attention.
Toray estimates that the world's water-related markets, including water works and water processing plants, will expand to top 100 trillion yen in 2025 from 50 trillion to 60 trillion yen in 2005.
Filtration membrane makers are now in a race to get orders from one of the world's largest water processing plant to be built in Algeria, which would be capable of supplying 500,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
A water business magazine called Global Water Intelligence lists a number of other large-scale water processing projects in the world, showing big business chances lying ahead for the firms.
In the global market of reverse osmosis membranes, a kind of very fine filters often used at large-scale water treatment facilities in the Middle East, Japanese manufacturers, including Toyobo Co., Toray Industries Inc. <3402> and Nitto Denko Corp. <6988>, hold a combined share of as much as 70 pct.
Among the Japanese firms, Toyobo has strength in the technology to desalinate seawater from enclosed coastal seas like the Red Sea where bacteria grow quickly.
Although the speed of desalination is comparatively slow, Toyobo's originally developed hollow fiber membranes feature a disinfection technology to prevent bacteria-caused clogging.
Toyobo's membranes have been adopted for use at one of Saudi
Arabia's biggest seawater desalination plant located in the Red Sea coastal city of Shuqaiq. The plant is capable of supplying 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
Toyobo aims to expand its membrane business in the Middle East where a remarkable demand growth is anticipated, said Executive Officer Kazuo Kurita, pointing out a number of desalination plants there are having clogging problems.
Meanwhile, manufacturers of mainstream flat membranes, including Japan's Toray and Nitto Denko as well as Dow Chemical Co. of the United States, are in intense competition to improve the speed of desalination and the desalting rate.
Toray has clinched deals to supply its membranes to wastewater recycling facilities in Kuwait and Singapore, while Nitto Denko recently received an order to supply its membranes to a seawater desalination plant in Tianjin, China.
Dow Chemical has announced a plan to boost its reverse osmosis membrane production by 25 pct.
Although earnings from the water treatment business currently account for only a small proportion of these membrane makers' total sales, future growth prospects are driving them into an intense development race.
In line with the population increase in developing countries, water shortages are seen to inevitably become serious on a global basis, and demand for water treatment is expected to steadily expand in the future as a result.
According to a U.N. report, 1.1 billion of 6.5 billion people living on Earth are already suffering from the lack of drinking water. The United Nations warns that by 2050, the threat of water shortages could spread to as many as 7 billion people in 60 countries.
As water shortages are becoming a problem not only in the Middle East but also in Europe, Asia and Oceania, seawater desalination and wastewater treatment are drawing keen attention.
Toray estimates that the world's water-related markets, including water works and water processing plants, will expand to top 100 trillion yen in 2025 from 50 trillion to 60 trillion yen in 2005.
Filtration membrane makers are now in a race to get orders from one of the world's largest water processing plant to be built in Algeria, which would be capable of supplying 500,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
A water business magazine called Global Water Intelligence lists a number of other large-scale water processing projects in the world, showing big business chances lying ahead for the firms.
