Market Trends of Sodium Silicate Industry
Detergents Segment to Witness Healthy Demand
- Sodium silicate is a colorless compound of silica and oxides of sodium. It is used in soaps, detergents, and the making of silica gel. The role of sodium silicate in the composition of detergents is to control the corrosion, alkalization, and emulsion of fats and organic oils, and reduce the hardness of calcium and magnesium.
- Many detergent operations are performed using sodium silicates, such as metal cleaning, textile processing, laundering, and de-inking paper, to wash dishes, dairy equipment, bottles, floors, and locomotives.
- Liquid laundry detergent is primarily used in cleaning laundry and has two main end-user segments, namely, residential and commercial. The demand for liquid laundry detergent is growing due to the comfort and ease of application and lesser wastage than detergent powders.
- North America is currently the region leading the global demand and consumption of liquid laundry detergent. The United States is among the developed markets for household and industrial detergents. For instance, according to Happi Magazine, for the 52 weeks that ended October 30, 2022, the liquid laundry detergent category had sales totaling approximately 641 million units in the United States.
- Moreover, in 2022, Tide was the leading unit dose laundry detergent brand in the United States, registering over USD 1.2 billion in sales, followed by the brands "Gain" and "All". The brand, All, had a sales value of over USD 100 million.
- In Germany, due to increasing demand for laundry detergent drugs owing to growing concerns regarding the health and hygienic living among the people. For instance, according to IKW, in 2022, revenue from laundry detergents and cleaning products in Germany amounted to EUR 5.14 billion (~USD 5.42 billion), which showed an increase of 1% compared to 2021. Therefore, increasing the consumption of laundry detergents is expected to create an upside for the sodium silicate market.
- Such aforementioned applications are, in turn, expected to boost the demand for sodium silicate.
Understand The Key Trends Shaping This Market
Download PDF
Asia-Pacific to Dominate the Market for Sodium Silicate
- Asia-Pacific is a major industrialized region that houses multiple heavy, medium, and small-scale industries. The Asia-Pacific sodium silicate market is expected to experience growth on account of high product demand in China, India, etc.
- China is one of the biggest water consumers worldwide, with a consumption volume of 610 billion cubic meters of drinking water additives for human consumption. This is a potential driver for the sodium silicate market, as sodium silicate has been extensively used in water treatment since its approval as a drinking water additive for human consumption. For instance, in June 2022, an environmental protection company that focuses on water environment management, named China Everbright Water secured the expansion and upgrading project of the ZhangdianEast Chemical Industry Park Industrial Wastewater Treatment in Zibo City, Shandong Province. This project will be operated on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model, with a designed daily industrial wastewater treatment capacity of around 5 thousand m3.
- Moreover, China produced 12.46 million metric tons of processed paper and cardboard in March 2022, compared to 11.97 million metric tons in March 2021, registering a growth of 4%. In September 2022, the production volume of processed paper and cardboard in the country was around 11.6 million metric tons.
- In South Korea, the government initiative, under the Water Environment Management Master Plan of 2016-2025 plan, is likely to further boost the water treatment activities in the country, which, in turn, will proliferate the sodium silicate market growth during the forecast period.
- Water and wastewater treatment is an important issue in Indonesia. Indonesia's water resources account for 6% of the world's and 21% of Asia-Pacific's water resources, and yet 68% of rivers in Indonesia are heavily polluted due to the discharge of wastewater without treatment, thus, requiring huge investment in water treatments system that will augment the demand sodium silicate market in the country. For instance, according to UNICEF, only 75% of Indonesians have complete water accessibility and sanitation. The government is trying to put significant efforts to build sufficient infrastructure for water treatment so that the drinking water sector is not left behind. An investment of IDR 70 thousand (USD 5.00) per capita per year is needed in the country to ensure fully developed water sanitation. Clean water needs in Jakarta are expected to rise from 28 cubic meters per second (m³/s) in 2017 to 41.6 m³/s by 2030.
- According to the National Bureau of Statistics, paper and paper product manufacturers in China generated a revenue of more than USD 217.5 billion in 2022, which showed an increase of 3.59% compared to 2021. Moreover, according to United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, China's exports of paper and paperboard, articles of pulp, paper, and board amounted to USD 31.63 billion in 2022. Therefore, these paper and paperboard exports are expected to create an upside for the sodium silicate market.
- Such growth in various industries is expected to drive the market for sodium silicate in the Asia-Pacific region during the forecast period.
Get Analysis on Important Geographic Markets
Download PDF
