Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) is a wastewater treatment process that is designed to remove liquid waste from the system. This is done to achieve zero discharge at the end of wastewater management cycle, so that no liquid waste leaves the boundary of the facility. It is a progressive wastewater treatment process that is comprised of reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, evaporation/crystallization, and fractional electro deionization. There are two types of zero liquid discharge systems named conventional ZLD systems and hybrid ZLD systems. Conventional ZLD systems includes falling film brine concentrators, vertical tube vertical tube evaporators (seed slurry concentrators) and non-seeded evaporators, forced circulation crystallizers, horizontal spray film evaporators, filter presses, centrifuges, and drum dryers for sludge dewatering. Moreover, hybrid ZLD systems involves integrated automated system with membrane pre-concentrators, followed by thermal/evaporation technologies. Zero liquid discharge systems are used in various industries such as semiconductors & electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, energy & power, food & beverages, chemicals & oil, and others.

Market Dynamics:

Driver- Inadequate availability of freshwater

The availability of freshwater across the world has decreased significantly. Growing industrialization has led to increased generation of water waste, and thus, increasing water pollution worldwide. Furthermore, stringent regulatory polices enforced by government agencies in developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, and countries in Western Europe has accelerated the adoption of zero discharge systems. Agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.), European Water Association (Europe), and India Water Works Association (India) coupled with government authorities are proactively forming regulatory policies, in order to curb water pollution, and this is expected to drive the market growth in the near future.

Restraint- High capital investment and operational costs

Zero liquid discharge systems are based on thermal processes including energy-intensive evaporation processes, in order to recover reusable water from wastewater system. Such systems are custom built according to particular organization’s needs that involves significant amount of investment and operating expenditure. Moreover, spatial constraints hinder the adoption of ZLD systems, especially in smaller industries in emerging economies. ZLD treated water cost three to seven times that of water extracted from the ground or obtained from municipal source, and this is expected to hinder the market growth in the near future.

Opportunity- Growing concerns of disposal brine concentrates into oceans

Disposal brine water concentrates in ocean is a major concerns for governing bodies. Desalination plants produce more brine water. This is expected to offer lucrative opportunities for market players to develop novel techniques, in order to decrease disposal of brine solutions in oceans. It can be done with innovative techniques such as brine incineration, brine evaporation ponds, and others. In brine incineration, brine concentrates are mixed with other solid waste, and are incinerated to evaporate water. The salts in it remain as residual ash that is then further managed.

Trends- Development of cost-efficient technology in ZLD

Novel technologies such as forward osmosis (FO) membranes and electro-separation systems in ZLD systems are introduced to treat brine concentrates with high salinity. The low operating pressure and high cross flow velocity involved in forward osmosis membrane technology provides higher capabilities to perform dissolved solids separation on high fouling streams. By replacing a Membrane Brine Concentrator (MBC) for thermal evaporation, the key intermediary step of the ZLD process could be performed with a membrane technology that provides lower energy consumption, reduced capital cost, improved reliability, and achievement of higher water recovery, and thus, final ZLD step of crystallization operates at lower flow and lower energy.

Key features of the study:

• This report provides in-depth analysis of the global zero liquid discharge market, and provides market size (US$ Mn) and compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for the forecast period (2023–2030), considering 2022 as the base year
• It elucidates potential revenue opportunities across different segments and explains attractive investment proposition matrices for this market
• This study also provides key insights about market drivers, restraints, opportunities, new product launches or approval, market trends, regional outlook, and competitive strategies adopted by key players
• It profiles key players in the global zero liquid discharge market based on the following parameters company highlights, products portfolio, key highlights, financial performance, and strategies
• Key companies covered as a part of this study include Aquatech International LLC, Alfa Laval Corporate AB, GEA Group, U.S. Water Services Inc., Veolia Water Technologies, Oasys Water, Inc., GE Water & Process Technologies, Thermax Global, Suez Environnement, 3v Green Eagle S.p.A., ENCON Evaporators, Aquarion AG, Doosan Hydro Technology, and IDE Technologies.
• Insights from this report would allow marketers and the management authorities of the companies to make informed decisions regarding their future product launches, type up-gradation, market expansion, and marketing tactics
• Global zero liquid discharge market report caters to various stakeholders in this industry including investors, suppliers, product manufacturers, distributors, new entrants, and financial analysts
• Stakeholders would have ease in decision-making through various strategy matrices used in analyzing the global zero liquid discharge market
• Global Zero Liquid Discharge Market report caters to various stakeholders in this industry including investors, suppliers, distributors, new entrants, and financial analysts
• Stakeholders would have ease in decision-making through the various strategy matrices used in analyzing the Global Zero Liquid Discharge Market

Detailed Segmentation:

• Global Zero Liquid Discharge Market, By System Type:
  • Conventional
  • Hybrid
• Global Zero Liquid Discharge Market, By Application:
  • Power Generation
  • Oil & Gas
  • Chemicals & Petrochemicals
  • Mining & Metallurgy
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Others
• Global Zero Liquid Discharge Market, By Region:
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia Pacific
  • Latin America
  • Middle East &Africa
• Company Profiles:
  • Aquatech International LLC
  • Alfa Laval Corporate AB
  • GEA Group
  • U.S. Water Services Inc.
  • Veolia Water Technologies
  • Oasys Water, Inc.
  • GE Water & Process Technologies
  • Thermax Global
  • Suez Environnement
  • 3v Green Eagle S.p.A.
  • ENCON Evaporators
  • Aquarion AG
  • Doosan Hydro Technology
  • IDE Technologies