GLOBAL HOLLOW FIBER FILTRATION MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2023 - 2030)

The global hollow fiber filtration market size is expected to reach US$ 1,030.7 Mn by 2030, from US$ 395.2 Mn in 2023, exhibiting a CAGR of 14.7% during the forecast period.

Hollow fiber filtration is a popular separation technique used in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. It uses hollow fiber filter modules made from semipermeable membranes in the form of thin-walled fibers. The fibers are arranged parallel to each other in cylindrical modules to create open spaces within and between them. Depending on the pore size of fibers, this technique allows selective passage of molecules and particles through fiber walls.

Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market- Regional Insights

• North America is expected to be the largest market for hollow fiber filtration during the forecast period, accounting for over 35.7% of the market share in 2023. North America has established itself as the most dominant region in the global hollow fiber filtration market. The region is home to several top players operating in the biopharmaceutical industry, such as Sartorius AG, Repligen Corporation, and Danaher Corporation, which are pioneering the development and production of complex biologics. In addition, a strong focus on research and development activities pertaining to drug discovery and vaccines has created a huge demand for hollow fiber filtration systems in separation, concentration, and purification applications across the biopharmaceutical sector. Moreover, a favorable regulatory environment and the availability of funding for clinical research promote the growth of the biologics market in the U.S. and Canada, consequently driving the adoption of hollow fiber filtration.
• Asia Pacific is expected to be the second-largest market for hollow fiber filtration, accounting for over 25.2% of the market share in 2023. Asia Pacific region has emerged as the fastest-growing market for hollow fiber filtration globally. The rapid expansion of biotech and biopharmaceutical industries in major countries like China, India, and South Korea is fueling the regional market growth. China represents the largest biopharmaceutical market in Asia owing to the focus of government and private organizations on healthcare infrastructure development. Further, these economies offer production advantages in terms of the availability of raw materials and skills, which attract biopharmaceutical investors from western countries to set up manufacturing facilities. This has contributed significantly to the growth of Asia Pacific hollow fiber filtration market. Furthermore, growing contract manufacturing activity from global players expands export opportunities for regional hollow fiber filter manufacturers.
• Europe market is expected to be the fastest-growing market for hollow fiber filtration, with a share of 19% during the forecast period. The European hollow fiber filtration market is primarily driven by the robust healthcare industry and the presence of key filtration product developers in the region. Countries like Germany, the U.K., and France have major biotech clusters that rely on hollow fiber technology for large scale production of biotherapeutics. Strong academic research also stimulates innovation and commercialization of advanced filtration solutions tailored for new modalities. However, pricing pressures from generic competition and budget constraints on healthcare spending in Southern Europe may hamper market growth to some extent over the forecast period.

Analyst View: The global hollow fiber filtration market is poised to grow significantly in the coming years. The rising demand for biopharmaceutical products is a major driver, as hollow fiber filtration is widely used in the downstream processing of biologics. Additionally, the increasing research activities in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries will augment the need for hollow fiber filters. The rising prevalence of chronic and lifestyle diseases is also propelling the healthcare sector's growth, which will create more opportunities for hollow fiber filtration systems.     

Figure 1. Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market Share (%), By Region, 2023

To learn more about this report, Request sample copy

Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market- Drivers

• Growing Pharmaceutical Industry: The pharmaceutical industry has seen tremendous growth over the past few decades. Rapid advancements in life sciences research and drug development have led to many new drugs and therapies being approved for a wide range of diseases. Hollow fiber filtration technology plays a crucial role in large-scale manufacturing of biologics within the pharmaceutical sector. It is used extensively for tasks like purification, concentration, and buffer exchange during downstream processing of therapeutic proteins, vaccines, and other biologic drugs. As the development of novel biologics resumes at a brisk pace, demand for hollow fiber filtration products from pharmaceutical companies is surging. Many major drug makers are also expanding and upgrading their manufacturing facilities, which requires significant investments in new filtration equipment and hollow fiber cartridges. The intense R&D activity aimed at developing targeted therapies and personalized medicines for cancer and chronic illnesses is propelling the pharmaceutical industry to new heights. This is directly fueling the need for high-performing hollow fiber filters within bio production workflow of pharmaceutical firms.
• Water Treatment Applications: Access to clean and safe water is a major issue faced globally. With growing urbanization and a rising population, the need for advanced water treatment solutions has become more important than ever before. Municipal corporations and utilities providing water services to cities and regions are focusing heavily on installing robust water treatment facilities. Hollow fiber membrane bio-reactor (MBR) technology has emerged as a reliable and effective means of purifying water for various municipal and industrial applications. It helps deliver superior quality effluent by removing even the smallest impurities. Several hollow fiber MBR projects are being commissioned in developing nations to meet rising water demands. Industries engaged in food and beverage processing, power generation, mining, etc. also require robust wastewater treatment systems to meet stringent discharge standards. This stimulates demand for hollow fiber ultrafiltration modules within industrial wastewater treatment plants. As freshwater resources come under increasing strain worldwide due to climate change and depletion, the importance of hollow fiber membrane technology in reclaiming/recycling water will keep enhancing over the coming years.
• Increasing Emphasis on Continuous Processing: Another key factor driving the hollow fiber filtration market is the increased emphasis on continuous manufacturing for biopharmaceutical production. Traditionally, batch manufacturing was the prevalent approach, but it involves multiple discrete processing steps that are time-consuming and resource-intensive. In contrast, continuous processing enables a more seamless, automated, and integrated production with improved throughput. It has gained wide acceptance recently due to various advantages like consistent product quality, reduced facility footprints, lower energy consumption, and athe bility to facilitate real-time monitoring. Since hollow fiber filtration modules can be easily configured for continuous multipass operation, they help simplify the integration of downstream purification in an otherwise sequential batch workflow.

Regulatory bodies like U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency have also been encouraging pharmaceutical manufacturers to adopt advanced technologies like continuous processing as part of their guidance on quality-by-design principles. This has given a further push to process development activities focused on implementing novel integrated purification platforms with components like intensified hollow fiber filters compatible with single-use automated systems. Rising regulatory support for such emerging manufacturing approaches is expected to significantly augment the demand for hollow fiber filtration equipment and modules in the coming years.

Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market- Opportunities

• Technological advancements: technological advancements drive the growth of the global hollow fiber filtration market. Due to various factors:
  • Increased Efficiency and Productivity: Technological advancements in hollow fiber filtration systems have significantly improved their efficiency and productivity. Modern systems are capable of higher throughput with better separation and purification performance, which is attractive to industries such as pharmaceuticals and water treatment that require high volumes of filtration.
  • Enhanced Selectivity and Specificity: Improvements in membrane technology have led to the development of hollow fibers with better selectivity for specific molecules. This has been particularly beneficial for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, where selective filtration is crucial for protein separation, cell culture media filtration, and virus removal.
  • Scale-up and Manufacturing: Advances in manufacturing techniques have allowed for more cost-effective production of hollow fiber membranes. This has led to a reduction in prices, making hollow fiber filtration systems more accessible and driving market growth.

• Growing healthcare expenditure: One of the significant factors influencing the growth rate of the global hollow fiber filtration market is the growing healthcare expenditure, which helps in improving its infrastructure. For instance, according to the International Health Care System of the U.S., in June 2020, U.S. government organizations aim to improve the healthcare infrastructure by increasing funding, setting legislation and national strategies, and cofounding and setting basic requirements and regulations for the Medicaid program. Similarly, in November 2022, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that the total health spending in Canada was US$ 331 billion in 2022, or US$ 8,563 per Canadian, while health expenditure represented 12.2% of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, following a high of 13.8% in 2020.

Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market- Trend

• High productivity: High productivity is a key driver for the growth of the global hollow fiber filtration market for the following reasons
  • Increased Output: Hollow fiber membranes have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio compared to other filtration methods, allowing more fluid to be processed at a faster rate. This increases the productivity of companies using these systems, which directly impacts the demand and growth of the market.
  • Cost Efficiency: With higher productivity, the cost per unit of product filtered or treated decreases. This cost-effectiveness encourages more companies to adopt hollow fiber filtration methods, thus broadening the market.
  • Scalability: Hollow fiber filtration systems are scalable, making it easier for companies to increase their production capacity to meet demand without a substantial increase in the cost or space required. This flexibility is attractive to growing industries such as biopharmaceuticals, where scalability is crucial.
  • Consistent Quality: The consistency in performance delivered by hollow fiber filtration systems ensures that the quality of the filtrate is maintained, which is critical for industries with stringent quality standards.

Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market - Restraints

• Membrane fouling issues: Membrane fouling is one of the significant challenges affecting the performance and operational cost of hollow fiber filtration systems, and it can indeed hinder the growth of the global hollow fiber filtration market in the following ways:
  • Reduced Efficiency: Membrane fouling occurs when particles, macromolecules, or biological matter accumulate on the surface of the membrane or within its pores, leading to decreased permeate flow and increased resistance to filtration. This directly affects the efficiency and productivity of the filtration process, which is not favorable for market growth.
  • Increased Operational Costs: Fouled membranes require more frequent cleaning or replacement, which increases downtime and maintenance costs. In addition, more energy might be required to maintain flow rates as transmembrane pressure increases due to fouling. The higher operating costs may deter potential customers from investing in hollow fiber filtration systems.
  • Shortened Membrane Lifespan: Ongoing fouling issues can lead to a reduced lifespan of hollow fiber membranes, necessitating more frequent replacements and thereby increasing the long-term operational costs for users. This reduced durability can make hollow fiber filtration systems less attractive compared to alternative technologies with longer-lasting components, potentially constraining market growth.
• Complex cleaning and sanitization procedures: Complex cleaning and sanitization procedures can pose a hindrance to the growth of the global hollow fiber filtration market for several reasons:
  • Increased Operational Time and Costs: Intricate cleaning and sanitization procedures can be time-consuming and require additional resources, including specialized reagents and equipment. This adds to the operational costs for companies utilizing hollow fiber filtration systems.
  • Downtime: Elaborate cleaning processes often necessitate halting production, which leads to downtime and lost productivity. In highly competitive markets, the cost of downtime can significantly impact a company's bottom line and make alternative filtration solutions more appealing.
  • Risk of Human Error: The more complex the procedure, the higher the risk of human error, which can result in inadequate cleaning or even damage to the filtration system. Such errors can compromise the quality of the filtration process and the product, leading to potential regulatory issues, especially in industries like pharmaceuticals and food and beverage.

Figure 2. Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market Share (%), By Membrane Material, 2023

To learn more about this report, Request sample copy

Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market- Recent Developments

Product Launch and Supplying

• In November 2021, Toray Industries, Inc., a material manufacturer, announced that it had developed and began supplying samples to customers of an exceptionally robust hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane module for food and beverage manufacturing and biotechnology purification and concentration processes.
• In November 2021, Namiton, a manufacturer of water purifiers, announced the launch of its pioneering water purifier armed with a hollow-fiber nanofiltration membrane, signaling a significant leap in membrane technology advancements from Singapore.

Business Development Activities by the Market Players

• On October 5, 2023, Evonik, a Specialty Chemicals Company, expanded its capacity for production of its SEPURAN hollow fiber membranes in Schörfling and Lenzing, Austria. The specialty chemicals company already put into operation a new hollow fiber spinning facility in Schörfling at the beginning of 2023.
• In April 2022, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company, opened its integrated R&D and manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, which was established with a total investment of US$ 30 million. The expansion of the pharmaceutical sector, bolstered by advancements in formulation development, packaging innovation, and analytical techniques, is driving greater adoption of hollow fiber filtration in product purification processes. This trend contributes positively to the advancement of the hollow fiber filtration market segment.
• In November 2021, Toray Industries, Inc., a material manufacturer, made public its development of an ultra-durable hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane module. Having initiated the distribution of samples to clientele, this innovation is poised to serve critical roles in the production processes for food and beverages, as well as in biotechnological purification and concentration applications.

Top companies in Global Hollow Fiber Filtration Market

• Sartorius AG
• Repligen Corporation
• Danaher Corporation
• Merck KGaA
• Asahi Kasei Corporation
• Parker Hannifin Corp
• Cole Parmer
• Sterlitech Corporation
• Synder Filtration, Inc.
• Meissner Filtration Products, Inc.
• KURARAY CO., LTD.
• Evoqua Water Technologies LLC.
• The Envirogen Group
•  

Definition: Hollow fiber filtration is a membrane filtration process that uses hollow fiber membrane modules to filter fluids. There are different types of hollow fiber filters used for various applications. Microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes are commonly used for water purification and desalination. The hollow fiber membranes have an outer diameter ranging from 200 to 2500 microns and pore sizes ranging from 0.03 to 2 microns, depending on the type.