Phosphate and Alternatives: Ceresana Analyzes the Global Market for Chelating Agents

Konstanz, Germany, August 23, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Chelating agents are useful and at times controversial chemicals that are used in large quantities. They can bind heavy metals in food, for example, or prevent lime to deposit from washing water. Chelating agents are used above all in detergents and cleaners to lower water hardness, but also for industrial applications, food processing and medicine. The market research institute Ceresana expects worldwide demand for chelating agents to rise to more than 4.34 million tonnes by 2022.

Main Application Washing Powder

The most important sales market for chelating agents are washing powders. They constituted about 60% of total demand in 2014. Chelating agents are not only used in household detergents and cleaners, but also in industrial applications. They are applied, among others, in the pulp and paper industry, textiles and leather, the food industry, medicine and cosmetics. The pulp industry was the largest consumer in 2014 with a volume of about 150.000 tonnes. In this sector, chelating agents are used for manufacturing bleached chemical pulp and for de-inking recycled waste paper.

Alternatives to Phosphates

While demand for chelating agents rises strongly in emerging countries, saturated markets in Western Europe and North America will only grow slightly over the next years. They are characterized by product substitution. Environmental concerns are having an impact on the use of the controversial sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) in the European Union as well as in Canada and the USA. Many manufacturers are voluntarily refraining from applying STPP. Governmental prohibitions and limitations are becoming more and more effective as well. In Europe, demand for STPP in household washing powders has already fallen significantly. Over the next years, this trend is expected to lead to a clear volume decline of STPP for dishwashing detergents.

Growth Market for Environmentally Friendly Chelating Agents

There is an increasing desire for replacing conventional chelating agents such as STPP, phosphonates, EDTA, NTA or DTPA in an environmentally friendly way. Biodegradability is most important in order to prevent long-term consequences for humans and the environment. Citric acid, GLDA, MGDA, EDDS, IDS, gluconic acid, and glucoheptonates are to be more environmentally friendly. Ceresana expects its demand to rise by 2.4% p.a. worldwide.

The Study in Brief

Chapter 1 provides a presentation and analysis of the global market for chelating agents, including forecasts up to 2022. Demand development is discussed for the regions Western and Eastern Europe, North and South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

Chapter 2 examines the market for chelating agents of the 16 major countries in more detail. Demand volume of the individual applications is described in detail.

Chapter 3 discusses the applications of chelating agents. The demand development is examined for washing powder, dishwashing detergents, household cleaners, other detergents and cleaners, industrial and institutional cleaners, and industrial products.

In Chapter 4, demand for individual types of chelating agents is analyzed. Covered are sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), phosphonates (ATMP, EDTMP, DTPMP, HEDP, PBTC, and HDTMP), ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) and other products (citric acid, GLDA, MGDA, EDDS, IDS, GA, PDTA, HEDTA, glucoheptonates).

Chapter 5 provides profiles of the largest producers of chelating agents, clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, and profile summary. More detailed profiles are given for 99 manufacturers, including Akcros Chemicals Ltd., Akzo Nobel N.V., BASF SE, Chelest Corporation, DuPont (E.I.) De Nemours, Hebei Smart Chemicals Co. Ltd., Innophos Holdings Inc., Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG, Kemira Oyj, Lanxess AG, Prayon S.A., Protex International SA, Tata Chemicals Limited, The Dow Chemical Company, and Zschimmer & Schwarz Holding GmbH & Co KG.

About Ceresana
Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector and operates branch offices in Constance, Vienna and Hong Kong. For more than 10 years, it has been supplying several thousand customers from 55 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions. Ceresana's clients profit from implementation-oriented consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 90 independent multi-client market studies. Ceresana's analysts are experts in the following markets: Chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, consumer goods, packaging, agriculture, and construction materials.