Gas Separation Membrane Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Polymeric, Inorganic, Metallic), By End-use (Chemicals, Petrochemicals and Oil & Gas, Food & Beverage), By Application, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030

Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends

The global gas separation membrane market size was estimated at USD 1.41 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2024 to 2030. The market growth is expected to be driven by the rise of the petrochemical and chemical industries. In addition, stringent regulations and policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are driving industry growth, as separation membrane technologies offer an energy-efficient solution for separating gases. Increasing environmental concerns regarding climate change are prompting industries, such as chemicals, food & beverage, petrochemicals, and power generation, to implement more sustainable gas separation methods. Membrane technology offers an environmentally friendly alternative compared to traditional separation methods, such as cryogenic distillation.

Polymers are an important raw material for the production of gas separation membranes. Polyethersulfone (PES), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and polypropylene (PP) are the most widely used polymers for the production of membrane modules.Polymer prices move at a slower pace than oil prices. Therefore, any fluctuation in the price of polymers can lead to fluctuations in the price of producer margin and thus limit the market growth. The global market is dynamic and highly competitive. Investments, divestments, and regional expansion are the key strategies adopted by various companies to strengthen their presence in the market. However, fluctuations in raw material prices are expected to emerge as a key concern for the market players.

Market Concentration & Characteristics

The growth stage of the market is medium and the growth rate is increasing. The industry is characterized by a high degree of innovation owing to the potential use of 3D printing techniques to enable the production of membranes in different shapes & designs and in a more precise manner compared to other fabrication methods currently available in the industry. For instance, the University of Bath’s Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering (CASE) has launched a research study to explore the possibility of 3D printing techniques for membrane fabrication.

The market is characterized by a large number of players involved in capacity expansions and mergers & acquisitions to increase their market share. International players are focusing on strategic acquisitions of small- as well as medium-scale companies to expand their product portfolio and strengthen their position in the market.

The industry is subject to the low impact of regulations owing to the presence of fewer standards, regulations, and guidelines. Few regulations control the market, such as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration 21CFR177.2910 defines the labeling, usage, and development of ultra-filtration membranes.

The market serves a diverse range of end-users across various industries, such as chemicals, food & beverage, power generation, and petrochemicals. Therefore, the end-use concentration is high in this market. Understanding the specific needs of end-users, along with providing efficient services to the clients, are a few of the major factors that need to be considered by manufacturers.

Application Insights

Based on applications, the nitrogen separation segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 22% in 2023. Gas separation membranes are used to separate nitrogen from the air, producing high-purity nitrogen. This nitrogen is used in various industries, including electronics, food and beverage packaging, pharmaceuticals, and chemical processing. Furthermore, the membranes are integrated into nitrogen generation systems to produce nitrogen on-site from compressed air.

Gas separation membranes are extensively used in acid separation processes across various industries, including oil and gas production, natural gas processing, chemical manufacturing, and environmental protection. The membranes selectively remove acid gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), from gas streams. These factors are expected to boost the segment growth over the forecast period.

End-use Insights

Based on end-uses, petrochemicals and oil & gas segment accounted for the largest revenue share of over 27.0% in 2023. The growing use of gas separation membranes for natural gas processing, hydrogen purification, carbon capture & storage, vapor recovery, and natural gas liquefaction is expected to drive segment growth. In the food & beverage industry, gas separation membranes are primarily used for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and controlled atmosphere storage (CAS) applications. This helps extend the shelf life and maintain the quality of perishable products.

In addition, precise control over gas composition, non-invasive packaging methods, and compatibility with various food products are further expected to boost segment growth. The power generation segment is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of 6.7% from 2024 to 2030 owing to its improved performance efficiency, reduced emissions, and cleaner energy production methods. The product is used for carbon capture & storage, pre-combustion carbon capture, hydrogen purification, oxygen enrichment, and selectively removing impurities, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water vapor from natural gas streams. These factors are projected to propel the market growth.

Product Insights

The polymeric membrane separation segment accounted for the largest share of 73.3% of the global revenue in 2023. Polymeric separation membranes are composed of polymeric materials, such as polysulfone, polyimide, polyethylene, or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The separation process takes place when gas mixtures pass through a membrane under pressure, allowing for the separation of particular gases from a mixture.

The inorganic membrane separation segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2024 to 2030. Inorganic separation membranes are composed of inorganic materials, such as ceramics, metals, and metal oxides. Inorganic gas separation membranes offer high selectivity of gases, thermal and chemical stability, and resistance to fouling, which are driving factors of the segment growth.

Regional Insights

The North America gas separation membrane market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to the rising investments in modernizing automotive systems, enhancing medical devices, and growing emphasis on developing compact computers.

U.S. Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends

The gas separation membrane market in the U.S. accounted for the largest share of over 73.2% in 2023. This growth is attributed to the U.S. government initiatives to encourage sustainable manufacturing processes in industries, such as food & beverage and power generation, which are expected to play a pivotal role in the growth of gas membrane separation.

The Canada gas separation membrane market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2024 to 2030 due to various factors, such as economic revival and government initiatives, to promote environmental protection campaigns. Canada’s focus on transitioning towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources has led to the implementation of technologies, such as carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and hydrogen energy, thereby boosting product demand.

Asia Pacific Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends

The gas separation membrane market in Asia Pacific led the global industry and accounted for the largest revenue share of 40.9% in 2023 owing to rising demand, rapid industrialization coupled with stringent regulations set by various governments to maintain environmental quality. Moreover, as pollution levels continue to rise and concerns about the environment grow, the demand for wastewater treatment technologies is expected to increase in the region over the next few years.

The China gas separation membrane market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2024 to 2030. Rapid industrialization and economic development have led to increased product demand in various industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, and steel production. In addition, the presence of environmental NGOs in China including China Biodiversity Conservation, Friends of Nature, and Green Development Foundation that implement various measures to curb pollution is driving the product growth.

Europe Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends

The gas separation membrane market in Europe is expected to grow at a significant rate of 5.3% from 2024 to 2030 owing to stringent environmental regulations and government initiatives aimed at reducing air and water pollution, as well as mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the significant contributors to the demand for gas membrane separation.

The Germany gas separation membrane market accounted for a major revenue share in the Europe regional market in 2023. The strong foothold of leading chemical manufacturers including BASF, Covestro, Henkel, Dow Chemical, and DuPont in Germany on account of easy access to technology and availability of equipment is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the overall industry.

Gas Separation Membrane market in the UK is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.8% from 2024 to 2030. This growth is attributed to the presence of major industries in the country including pharmaceutical, power generation, food & beverage, oil & gas, and chemical processing.

Middle East & Africa Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends

The Middle East & Africa gas separation membrane market witnessed high product demand as countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE are major contributors to rising environmental issues owing to heavy exploration, drilling, and extraction activities in the region. Thus, strict government norms imposed on companies to limit the number of pollutants are expected to propel market growth.

The gas separation membrane market in Saudi Arabia accounted for a revenue share of 16.9% in 2023. The increasing oil & gas production in the country has resulted in serious air & water pollution issues, which is expected to drive the demand for gas membrane separation in wastewater treatment applications.

Central & South America Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends

The Central & South America gas separation membrane market is projected to exhibit a growing trend over the forecast period. With the growing demand for energy in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, particularly in the power generation sector, there is a corresponding need for efficient gas separation technologies to meet energy production and consumption requirements.

The gas separation membrane market in Brazil is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.2% from 2024 to 2030 due to therapid economic and industrial growth over the past years. In addition, Brazil’s efforts to liberalize its energy sector and promote international collaboration have created opportunities for the adoption of advanced gas separation membrane technologies.

Key Gas Separation Membrane Company Insights

Some of the key players operating in the market are UBE Corporation, Air Liquide Advanced Separations, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., DIC CORPORATION, and FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.

• DIC Corp. specializes in producing industrial materials, specialty chemicals, and fine chemicals such as printing inks, organic pigments, and PPS compounds. The company offers hollow fiber membranes to over 60 countries around the world

• UBE Corp. is engaged in the production of machinery, industry chemicals, battery materials, and fine chemicals. The company offers a CO₂ separation, H₂ separation, organic vapor dehydration, N₂ separation, and dehumidification membrane module

GMT Membrantechnik GmbH, GRASYS JSC, Honeywell International Inc., and Mahler AGS GmbH are some of the emerging participants in the gas separation membrane market.

• GMT Membrantechnik GmbH is a German-based company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of membrane filtration systems and components. The company focuses on membrane technology solutions for various industries, including water and wastewater treatment, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and chemical processing

• JSC Grasys offers nitrogen generation units and plants, oxygen generation units and plants, skid-mounted compressor stations, hydrocarbon units, gas filling station equipment, hydrogen generation units, and membrane elements among other products. In addition, the company in-house manufactures hollow fiber membranes and membrane cartridges

Recent Development

• In November 2023, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., announced the milestone that more than 2,000 seagoing vessels worldwide utilize membrane-based nitrogen generation systems. These systems were procured from Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. which resulted in capturing a high market share and competitive edge in the global market

• In January 2023, UBE Corp. declared the expansion of its gas separation membrane hollow fiber production facility and the production facility for membrane modules. The production line of both facilities is expected to be operational by the first half of 2025, which will increase the production capacity by approximately 1.8x. The objective of the strategy is to capture the demand from environmental and power fields

Gas Separation Membrane Market Report Scope 

Global Gas Separation Membrane Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global gas separation membrane market report based on product, application, end-use, and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Polymeric Membranes

  • Inorganic Membranes

  • Metallic Membranes

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Nitrogen Separation

  • Oxygen Separation

  • Acid gas Separation

  • Hydrogen Separation

  • Other Applications

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Chemicals

  • Petrochemicals and Oil & Gas

  • Food & Beverage

  • Power Generation

  • Pharmaceuticals

  • Pollution Control

  • Other End-uses

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • UK

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • Australia

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa

    • Saudi Arabia