More than $25 billion will be spent on NOx reduction equipment in the United States in the next 20 years, according to "U.S. NOx Control Market" from McIlvaine Co., Northbrook, IL.
More than $25 billion will be spent on NOXreduction equipment in the United States in the next 20 years, according to "U.S. NOXControl Market, 2000-2020" from McIlvaine Co., Northbrook, IL. While demand will grow substantially, the market is predicted to fluctuate greatly from year to year, with nearly $11 billion spent in the first five years. The report also predicts that the peak year will be 2002, with expenditures in excess of $3 billion.

The steadily increasing market for critical components such as catalysts will allow suppliers to build capacity, says R.W. McIlvaine, president of the McIlvaine Co. He expects the U.S. market to greatly exceed that of any other region over the next decade.

McIlvaine cites the fact that Europe and Japan have required polluters to make NOX reduction investments for nearly 20 years. The United States is just now following suit, and McIlvaine predicts the result will be an unusually large opportunity in the United States. Many older coal-fired power plants in the Eastern United States will be required to install selective catalytic reduction systems in the next three years. By approximately 2010, a tighter ozone standard will require further reductions.

Electric utility deregulation also will be a factor in boosting NOX control revenues, according to McIlvaine. A steady modernization program is occurring as older plants are sold and the new owners are investing in increased efficiency with lower emissions. Market growth also will be a result of the increasing requirements for NOX reduction by industrial cogenerators, chemical plants, refineries, cement producers and other smaller sources that escaped regulation initially.