Activated Carbon – Procurement Best Practices & Sourcing Strategies

DESCRIPTION

Activated Carbon Market Global Size:

Increasing environmental safety concerns and awareness among people propelled worldwide businesses to largely invest in the global activated carbon market, which drove the size of $3.5 billion in 2022. Activated carbon operates as the main component in several industries for the treatment and cleaning of wastewater, gas & air, drinking water, industrial water, and underground water.

Moreover, according to ELINT Market Research’s procurement market research analysis, the COVID-19 outbreak affected industrial activities across multiple regions and also increased activated carbon usage in industrial wastewater treatment. Also, pandemic conditions caused the government to establish strict emission control regulations, which contributed to the $3.6 billion valuation of the global activated carbon market in 2023. Further, the report predicted a constant development in this sector at a CAGR of 2.9 percent.

Market Definition:

Activated carbon is also known as activated charcoal, which has a high tendency to adsorb; thus, worldwide sectors employ it for atmosphere protection and water & gas cleansing. Further, activated carbon works as an effective tool for eliminating smells, pollutants, and toxins from gases and water in manufacturing operations, due to its enormous surface area and capacity for catching particles.

Activated Carbon Market Drivers:

1. Rise of Effective Waste Management Regulations –

Constantly rising wastewater and garbage control guidelines drive tremendous development in the global activated carbon industry since this material assists in reducing harmful pollutants.

2. Demands from Gold Mining Industry-

The gold mining industry employs activated carbon as the key component to extract gold from ore using significant procedures like carbon-in-pulp and carbon-in-leach. These processes efficiently adsorb gold ions. Thus, higher demands in the gold mining sector propel the growth in the activated carbon industry.

Activated Carbon Market Challenges:

1. Uneven Weather Conditions –

Weather disruptions cause major challenges for global activated carbon market participants since they could hinder the supply chain and manufacturing production operations of activated carbon. These disruptions can result in the delayed supply of activated carbon goods to consumers.

2. Shifts in Raw Material Prices –

Key raw materials that assist in the manufacturing of activated carbon include coconut shells, coal, timber, etc. Hence, transitions in these raw materials prices can impact the production of activated carbon goods and also impact profit margins for manufacturing organizations.

Activated Carbon Market Opportunities:

1. Utilization of Activated Carbon Injection (ACI) Technology –

The rising utilization of activated carbon injection technology poses opportunities for market players since this technology is cost-effective and also assists in effortless purification operations. These methods are typically used in power stations and cement manufacturing factories to lower the count of mercury pollutants.

2. Increasing Coconut Production –

Increasing the production of coconuts creates a great opportunity for activated carbon procurement market intelligence companies since coconut shells are used as key raw material to manufacture activated carbon.

Activated Carbon Market Segmentation:

1. Types of Activated Carbon –

Two major types of activated carbon include powdered activated carbons (PAC) and granulated activated carbon (GAC). This procurement report reveals both upward and downward numbers for these activated carbon types. For instance, PAC evaluated holding 57 percent stakes in 2022 in the overall market and expected to achieve 61 percent in 2023. Contrarily, GAC owned 37 percent shares in 2022 and is expected to reach a decreased level i.e., 35 percent in 2023. Moreover, other activated carbon types collectively calculated at holding 6 percent portions in the international market in 2022, while this percentage dropped in 2023 and reached 4 percent.

2. End User Industries –

Major end-user industries of activated carbon, which own substantial percent shares in the international market include water treatment at 49%, air treatment at 23%, gold extraction at 22%, respirators at 4%, and solvency at 2%. Moreover, some other key consumers of activated carbon comprise construction, food & beverage, industrial, pharmaceutical, and automobile.

Geographical Outlook of the Activated Carbon Market:

The report exhibits emerging countries in the global activated carbon, which are progressively executing import-export activities of goods, and hold significant shares in the international market. Hence, prominent importing countries include the US at 9.6% percent, Germany at 8.2 percent, Japan at 9.6 percent, South Korea at 6.3 percent, and Belgium at 5.7 percent. These nations mainly import activated carbon products to conduct their water and air purification operations. On the other hand, fundamental exporting countries of the global activated carbon industry include China at 30 percent, Belgium at 8.2 percent, the Philippines at 7.3 percent, the US at 7.5 percent, and India at 9.3 percent.

Key Price Driving and Market Impacting Parameters in the Activated Carbon Market:

According to ELINT’s procurement intelligence tools, the global activated carbon market experienced shifts in the pricing dynamics of raw materials. For instance, coconut shell charcoal (CSC) expenses lowered by around 1-2% in 2022 compared to the previous year 2021. Further, this reduction was overcome by some primary factors such as old coconut trees, an upsurge in pressures, prudent product demands during economic tensions, higher ocean freight costs, and the use of alternate sourcing markets for procurement. Thus, these factors combine helped drive prices for activated carbon goods.

On the flip side, notable parameters that impacted the activated carbon market in 2023 include limitations in raw material supply, inflationary pressures on manufacturers, and changes in energy outlay.

Impactful Cost Components in the Activated Carbon Market:

Primary impactful cost components along with their respective shares in the global activated carbon industry include raw material that holds 68–72 percent stakes. Further, these cost components mainly constitute feedstock materials such as coconut shells at 37%, wood/coal at 57%, and others at 6%. Hence, raw materials are the major price-influencing aspects of the activated carbon sector. Additionally, some other price components include labor costs at 12–16%, energy expenses at 11–15%, and other fixed costs at 2–4%. Thus, stakeholders are required to keep track of these aspects to drive profitability.

Leading Suppliers in the Activated Carbon Procurement Market:

The availability of numerous global companies in the activated carbon market propelled intense competition; some key supplier names include Boyce India, Century Chemical Works, Shinkwang Chem. Ind. Co. Ltd., and Indo-German Carbons Limited.