The market for activated carbon for mercury control at coal-fired industrial plants is projected to reach US$5.6 billion by 2019, according to a new study by MarketsandMarkets, with North America remaining the largest consumer.
Activated carbon is used to reduce mercury emissions from a wide variety of industrial plants – most notable from coal-fired power plants, but also from steelworks, cement plant and alumina refineries.
North America is the largest consumer with the market there estimated to grow by 21.99% (CAGR) to 2019 as new power plants face strict emissions regulations under the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxins Standards (MATS).
Coal-fired power plants represent about 50% of mercury emissions in the US. Under MATS, power plants will have to reduce their emissions of mercury by 90% using technologies such as activated carbon injection with fabric filters.
Demand from coal-fired industrial plants will represent about half of the total market for activated carbon by 2019, according to the report – ‘Activated carbon for mercury control market – trends and forecasts to 2019’.
Written by Jonathan Rowland.