Water treatment chemicals is currently about a $4 billion business. The demand for water treatment chemicals is influenced by a host of factors. As a general rule, water availability, usage patterns, presence of pollutants, government policies, and tradeoffs among the various chemical compounds are more important than the level of economic activity. Mandated water purity standards and physical limits on effluents serve as a buffer in times of economic downturn. The extent to which chemical commodities and sophisticated compounds are used to clean water in a given sector is determined by a combination of the intended use of the water, traditional application practices, and a wide range of regulations. The most pervasive trend has been the replacement of low-cost commodity type chemicals by higher-value formulations, which do a better job of cleansing with far less dosage. In other words, while physical volume falls, the dollar value of shipments is increasing.
While a robust level of economic activity has a favorable impact on the use of water treatment chemicals, shipments are not highly sensitive to shifts in manufacturing activity or energy generation. Legislation and regulation are succeeding in reducing the volume of water used by practically every sector. Nonetheless, incoming, internal, and outgoing water must all be treated. While recycling of water has become a way of life in industry, chemicals are still needed for maintaining the quality of recycled water. Another factor favoring the use of water treatment chemicals in industry is that cleaner water contributes to fewer deposits in pipes, thereby lowering energy bills. In municipalities, protection of the population from waterborne diseases is an absolute mandate, so disinfecting agents are widely used.
