Phosphonates Market Expected to Reach $1.6 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Phosphonates Market," The phosphonates market was valued at $0.9 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $1.6 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.98% from 2022 to 2031.

Phosphonate is an organophosphorus compound that is highly soluble in water, exhibits strong adsorption, can chelate metal ion, and removes contaminants from stagnant water. It has the ability to soften hard water. Furthermore, it helps in preventing the formation of scale and corrosion in water treatment, oil & gas, metal fabrication, and other end-use sectors. In addition to this, the derivatives of phosphonates such as glyphosate and potassium phosphonate are used widely in the agriculture sector as fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides.

Factors such as rise in the population of millennial, increase in fashion consciousness, and adoption of western culture among citizens of both developed and developing economies such as the U.S., China, and India have propelled the growth of the textile sector. Phosphonate plays a vital role in the textile industry where it helps in cleaning, finishing, and dyeing process. Furthermore, derivatives of phosphonates such as trisodium phosphate and trisodium phosphate crystalline (TSPC) are used as a good source of alkalinity in the fiber-reactive dyeing process and brighten the synthetic yarn. Moreover, increase in the textile import and export trade in India has fostered the demand for phosphonates in the dyeing process of fibers. This may propel the growth of phosphonate in the growing textile industry.

However, several safety standards and rules regarding the use of bisphosphonate have been set by the National Library of Medicine, which hamper the production rate of phosphonate, thus restraining the overall market growth. Rise in building & construction sites near river, discharge of sewage from household and industry, garbage dumping, oil pollution, and other industrial waste directly into lakes and rivers affect the quality of freshwater that leads to shortage in supplying of fresh water to the community. To maintain the quality of water and to prevent shortage in supplying fresh water, phosphonate treatment is used widely in water treatment systems. Phosphonate acts as an effective water softener and helps in preventing the formation of water precipitates. In addition, it acts as a chelating agent that binds with the metal ions in stagnant water and removes contaminants and toxic substances. This factor is predicted to create remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the phosphonate market in the future.

The global phosphonate material market is segmented into type, application, end-use industry, and region. By type, the market is segregated into ATMP, HEDP, DTPMP, BHMT, and others. The HEDP segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2021, with two-sevenths of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that acts HEDP type phosphonate acts as an excellent scale inhibitor, corrosion inhibitor, and complex chelating in various industries such as in detergents, water treatment, oilfield, and textile. Moreover, HEDP is commonly used in water treatment plants.  In addition, it prevents the formation of insoluble sulfate and carbonate deposits, thus making HEDP an ideal chemical for reducing hard coating on fabric.

On the basis of application, the global phosphonate material market is classified into water cleaner, scale inhibitor, bleach stabilizer, chelating agents, concrete additives, and others. The water cleaner application segment exhibited the highest growth in 2021, with two-ninths of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that phosphonate acts as chemical additive to function as threshold antiscalant, sludge conditioner, and corrosion inhibitor. In drinking water production, phosphonates are widely used as antiscalants to clean the water and to reduce the formation of precipitation of salts in water by using the water treatment process.

Depending on end-use industry, the market is fragmented into water treatment, pharmaceutical, textile, oil & gas, pulp & paper, agriculture, and others. The pharmaceutical segment led the global market, with two-ninths of the total share in 2021. This is attributed to the fact that phosphonates have proven their pharmacological utility as inhibitors of enzymes that metabolize phosphate and pyrophosphate substrates. This makes it best-suited for treatment of bone-resorption disorders, anticancer targets, and other therapeutic diseases. Moreover, phosphonate nucleotide such as cidofovir, tenofovir, and adefovir are critical antiviral medications used for the treatment of HIV and hepatitis B.

Region wise, the phosphonate material market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific phosphonate material market garnered a major share in 2021, and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to development of China's pulp & paper manufacturing sector, which has forced phosphonates manufacturers to produce more efficient condensed phosphates used in paper coating and filling to promote the dispersion of kaolin clay, lithopone, titanium dioxide, and iron oxide during paper manufacturing. Furthermore, the textile sector in India is witnessing a significant growth, owing to increase in fashion consciousness among people where phosphonates are used as stabilizers for peroxide bleaching and textile dyeing applications. For instance, according to a report published by the Indian Brands Equity Foundation in May 2022, India’s home textile exports grew at a healthy rate of 9% in 2021.

The key players operating in the global phosphonate material market include Acuro Organics Limited, Apchem, Aquapharm Chemical Pvt. Ltd., Changzhou Kewei Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. (KWCHEM), Giovanni Bozzetto S.p.A., Lanxess, Manhar Specialities, Shandong Taihe Water Treatment Technologies Co., Ltd., Ter Hell & Co. GmbH, and Zschimmer & Schwarz Chemie GmbH.

COVID-19 impact analysis:

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and the economy around the globe. The major end users of phosphonates such as textile, oil & gas pulp & paper, and other sectors have been negatively impacted due to the ongoing pandemic outbreak. The ongoing health crisis has increased the supply–demand gap, hampering the global phosphonates supply chain. According to a report published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the chemical industry witnessed a 20% decline in production in March 2020 as compared to March 2019, while profits declined by 66%. Moreover, several companies have either shut down or shrank their operations due to the risk of infections among the workforce where phosphonates are widely used as corrosion and scale inhibitors. This has temporarily hampered the demand for the phosphonates market amid the COVID-19 period. In addition, more than 100 countries have locked their international borders for transportation and non-essential trade activities, which, in turn, has reduced the consumption of phosphonates among several end-use sectors. Furthermore, the temporary shutdown of construction and infrastructure activities amid the COVID-19 period has reduced the consumption of phosphonates for the curing of concrete from the ground. For instance, according to a report published by a research journal, the Journal of Physics, the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the investment in the construction industry in India by 30%. This has resulted in decreased consumption of phosphonates in the construction industry.

In 2020, phosphonates prices were higher in Asia-Pacific, due to continued regional demand and tight product availability. Firm downstream phosphonates demand and stronger upstream costs are expected to sustain the price gain.

However, the phosphonates market is expected to recover rapidly post COVID-19 situation due to its increased dependency over healthcare & pharmaceutical, agriculture, and other sectors. For instance, according to an article published by Financial Express, the Indian pharmaceutical industry registered a growth of 15% in 2021, and is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 18.6% by 2025. This is expected to enhance the performance of the phosphonates market post COVID-19 scenario.

Key findings of the study

• By type, the HEDP segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 5.93% from 2022 to 2031.

• On the basis of application, the water cleaner segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 6.03% from 2022 to 2031.

• Depending on end-use industry, the pharmaceutical industry segment exhibited the highest CAGR of 6.49%.

• Asia-Pacific depicted the highest share of 38.01% in 2021, in terms of revenue, and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6.15%.