Activated Alumina Market Size

Activated Alumina Market Size

The activated alumina market size was 146.2 million in 2020 and will grow at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2021 to 2027. The proliferating oil & gas production coupled with increasing oil & gas exploration activities across the globe will augment the product demand.

Activated alumina, also known as alumina or Al₂O₃, is a solid form of aluminum oxide. It is highly porous, possesses high resistance to thermal shock, great selectivity, excellent absorption rate, exhibits great surface area, high pole-molecular absorbent characteristic, etc. It does not soften, sell or shrink when immersed in water. The product is popularly used in water treatment and oil & gas industries.

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Rising fuel demand from major end-use sectors will augment the oil & gas production and supply in the coming decade. Activated alumina possesses the ability to absorb liquids and gases without altering its form. It is used for gas mixture purification by the optional adsorption of molecules. It is also used as a desiccant for water adsorption. Moreover, it is used in the form of catalyst for the Claus process, primarily for the natural gas desulfurization application.

Global oil production was recorded at 95.2 Mb/d (million barrels per day) in 2019, witnessing a growth of over 4% between 2016 and 2019. According to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), countries including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait have increased their level of production output. The global oil consumption was recorded at 98.3 Mb/d in 2019, witnessing a year-on-year growth of approximately 0.95%.

According to EIA, the annual crude oil production in the U.S. reached 12.23 Mb/d in 2019, which is approximately 11% or 1.24 Mb/d more as compared to 2018 production levels. Crude oil production in Texas has increased by around 333% or 3.9 Mb/d since 2010.

The unconventional onshore oil production will be led by North America, which is anticipated to secure over 50% of the global production by the end of 2030. Shifting focus toward the recovery of shale oil gas in the U.S. to be the chief factor triggering the expansion of regional unconventional onshore oil production. According to EIA, the U.S. produced over 2.5 billion barrels of crude oil from tight (shale) oil resources in 2019, which is more than 60% of total U.S. oil production.

Shale oil & gas activities also enable the storage of crude oil, further stabilizing the price of crude oil at a considerable level. Such trends are expected to increase unconventional onshore and offshore oil & gas production capacities, which will further drive the activated alumina market share by the end of the forecast period.
 

However, volatility in raw material prices might hinder the activated alumina market growth in near future. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has substantially disrupted the supply-chain across the industry. Governments of several countries opted for nationwide lockdown, temporary shutdown of production plants and manufacturing facilities, restricted mobility of civilians, etc., as preventive measures to reduce the outburst of the pandemic. This has substantially affected the trade as well as demand for activated alumina from major end-user sectors.