Membrane Separation:

Nano-filtration can achieve very specific separations of low-molecular-weight components, used for
recovery of hydrolyzed proteins, concentration of sugars, and de-ashing of dairy products. *2

Ultra-filtration is used to concentrate and purify medium-to-high-molecular-weight components such as
carbohydrates, and enzymes.
*2
1.) MARKET SIZE FOR SEPARATION MEMBRANES

Membrane materials demand is expects to exceed $3 billion by 2010. *5

Membrane market size in the U.S. for only water treatment was $322 million in 2003 and is expected to
reach $520 million by 2010. *1
Table 1: Sales of membrane industry – (year of data not supplied) *3
Industry
Total Sales (mn US$)
Ultra-Filtration Sales (mn US$)
Medical devices
Water treatment
Chemical
Food
1050
490
200
169
130
60
15
44
2.) MARKET SIZE FOR SEPARATION EQUIPMENT


Equipment market was about $47 billion in 2002 with a steady annual growth rate of 4%. *4
Sources of demand: municipal water, waste water treatment, and biopharmaceuticals sectors. *1
3.) MARKET DYNAMICS

Annual sales growth rate for membrane separation materials is expected to be about 10%. *10

Volume demand growth rate for membrane separation materials is expected to rise 8.3% per year
through 2008. *9

Market Growth led by higher-end membrane separation technologies. Ultra-filtration (UF) will be
among the faster-growing membrane applications. *1
Growth will be fueled by greater use of value-
added, high performance membranes and membranes made from specialty materials such as ceramics
and polymers. *9

Market driver for water filtration is increasingly strict environmental regulations and ongoing interest in
fluid purity. For hydrogen separation, rising oil prices leads to higher need for fuel cells (and therefore
higher demand for hydrogen separation). *9

Challenges of the membrane separation market are the rapid rate of developing new membrane
technologies, competition, and efficiency/energy requirements. The market is constantly changing. *1
Also, membranes are constantly being serviced; so the membranes life span and durability are also
important. *2

Emerging applications are primarily hydrogen separation membranes for fuel cell technology. *10
4.) COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Competitive pressures are high; over 300 private U.S. companies sell equipment for water and wastewater treatment. *4

GEA Filtration is the leader in the industry of membrane filtration. *2

Other companies supplying separation membranes/equipment include: GEA Filtration, Ionics,
Osmonics (GE), Donaldson Co., and many others.

Donaldson Co.’s 2006 annual report shows that “Industrial Filtration Solution Products” accounted for
26% (equal to $440,230,000) of the companies total net sales. *11

Academic groups working on membrane separation include University of Texas at Austin, University of
Kentucky, North Carolina St. University and the University of Delaware. There are many universities
working on the technology. Los Alamos National Labs is also an important group working on a
membrane separation.
5.) TRADE ORGANIZATIONS FOR MEMBRANE SEPARATION MARKET

American Filtration & Separation Society - (http://www.afssociety.org) *2
6.) OTHER INFORMATION

University of Texas at Austin is attempting to license a polymeric membrane used for gas (not water)
separation. A patent application has been filed. *7

Boston University professor, Srikanth Gopolan, is attempting to license a ceramic based membrane
for the separation of hydrogen from hydrogen containing gases. *8

University of London (Queen Mary) lists its membrane separation technology as available for
licensing. Their product is a polyurethane membrane used in medical instrumentation and new sensor
technologies for blood analysis (not water). *6

Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) put its portfolio of advanced membrane technologies up for
licensing last year (June 2006). *10
Sources:
*1 Frost & Sullivan (November 2004)
*2 GEA Filtration
*3 LC-GC Europe (April 2007)
*4 U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Association (August 2002)
*5 Global Information, Inc. (March 2006)
*6 University of London, Queen Mary (May 2006)
*7 University of Texas at Austin (2006)
*8 Boston University
*9 Freedonia Forecasts (May 2004)
*10 Los Alamos National Labs (June 2006)
*11 Donaldson Company Annual Report (July 2006)
*1 http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1262979&xs=r&SID=43078544-385352533342446277
*2 http://www.geafiltration.com/
*3 http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/pdf?vid=8&hid=120&sid=6cdd4414-4a60-4452-9c6f8e5c77be3f59%40sessionmgr104
*4 http://www.ita.doc.gov/media/Publications/pdf/water2002FINAL.pdf
*5 http://www.the-infoshop.com/study/fd36649-membrane-separation.html
*6 http://www.qmul.ac.uk/business/technology/licensing/ls05.html
*7 http://www.otc.utexas.edu/ATdisplay.jsp?id=543&m=Life
*8 http://www.masstechportal.org/IP219.aspx
*9 http://www.freedoniagroup.com/pdf/1799smwe.pdf
*10 http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/tt/pdf/techs/bus_opps_membranes.pdf
*11 http://ir.donaldson.com/annual_reports.html
June 1, 2007