Fluctuating growth forecast for flue-gas desulfurisation market

A new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData suggests that that flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) market will witness fluctuating growth over the years to 2020. The report indicates that the FGD market will increase from US$ 2.8 billion in 2012 to a peak of US$ 4.3 billion by 2016, before reaching US$ 3.7 billion by 2020.

The report, titled ‘Flue-gas desulfurization  systems market analysis to 2020, 2013 update’, said that the expected increase in the FGD market value will be driven primarily by high coal dependency, increasing awareness of air pollution and stringent emissions regulations, which will boost the number of FGD system installations over the coming years.

China leads the market

The main contributors for the expected growth are likely to be the US and China, with China in particular representing 65.5% of global installations between 2013 and 2020 – almost double the rest of the world’s installations, at 34.5%.

Swati Singh, Analyst for GlobalData, said: The low quality and high sulfur content of the coal found in China has made the country’s sulfur emissions very high; however, with emissions regulations in place, FGD system installations have received a favourable push in the country, and China is now one of the largest markets for this equipment in the world.”

“Meanwhile, as the level of sulfur emissions from power plants in the US reached around 15.73 million t in 1990, policies and regulations were formed to reduce not only these emissions, but also other pollutants, such as CO₂, particulates and mercury. As with China, the US FGD systems market has greatly benefited from the resulting surge in demand for equipment used in reducing air pollution,” Singh added.

Market will fluctuate

A steady increase in the FGD market, however, is unlikely, the report suggests. A number of barriers will prevent the FGD from increasing steadily over the coming years, including the high cost of FGD systems, as well as the impact of alternative sources of energy.

“Developed and developing countries are increasingly investing in alternative fuels, such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and nuclear, in order to meet the rising demands for electricity,” Singh continued.

“We expect these energy sources to pose a significant threat to the FGD market in the long term, as reductions in the share of fossil fuels for electricity generation will result directly in fewer sales of the FGD equipment needed to control emissions from fossil fuel power plants,” the analyst concluded.

Adapted from press release by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/21112013/outlook_for_flue_gas_desulfurisation_outlook_284/