China is planning investments and adjusting regulations which will result in very large opportunities for suppliers of flow control and treatment equipment. These opportunities are analyzed in Air/Gas/Water/Fluid Treatment and Control: World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.
There are four opportunities which stand out because of their size and the opportunity for innovative technologies.
Retrofit of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) to existing coal-fired power plantsMore stringent particulate control for power and other industriesGrowth of generic drug manufacturingWater reuseTwo of the opportunities are related to the decision to rely on coal for future energy needs. This decision is coupled with a commitment to reduce emissions from coal-fired generators. China has already retrofitted systems to remove SO2 from existing power plants. It is now making a 40 billion dollar commitment to provide 90 percent NOx reduction from these same power plants. China will be operating more than 50 percent of the world s coal-fired SCR systems by 2020.
China can be likened to Los Angeles in terms of the challenges it faces relative to ambient particulate. Topography magnifies the impact of fine particulate emissions for critical areas such as Beijing and many major cities. The new limits on particulate emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources will create new markets for fabric filters and other innovative technology to compete with the standard electrostatic precipitators.
China has been far behind the rest of the world in terms of sophisticated pharmaceuticals production. Plants producing branded pharmaceuticals use water of extreme purity. This in turn requires special pumps, valves and treatment equipment. Air circulating in production areas has to be fifty times cleaner than ambient air.
The world s largest pharmaceutical companies have decided to enter the generic market by building large facilities in Asia. Many of the new facilities are being constructed in China. They include research as well as production facilities. As a result, China will be both a large market and one receptive to innovations for suppliers of flow control and treatment products.
Rainfall per capita in China is only 25 percent as high as the world average. Furthermore, the distribution is uneven. There are many arid areas. A new trend is for construction of industrial facilities in areas where transcontinental rail shipping is convenient as opposed to ocean transport. This combination of factors will be putting great stress on water resources.
Treated municipal wastewater will increasingly be used for industrial, commercial and no potable residential purposes. Industrial plants will reuse rather than discharge wastewater. This trend will also generate billions of dollars in annual revenue for flow control and treatment companies.
