Alumina Trihydrate Flame Retardant Market is attributed by Increasing Demand for Filler and Non-Halogenated Compounds

The surging demand for halogen-free compounds is boosting the demand for the alumina trihydrate flame retardant market. Non-halogenated or halogen-free flame retardants have significantly gained popularity with an increase in the number of regulations and restrictions over the usage of brominated flame retardants. Subsequently, the increasing preference of low-smoke halogen free compounds is the major trend influencing the market growth. These compounds are cost-effective and easily incorporated in plastic. Since the use of plastic is widespread in many end-user industries and all the carbon-based materials are combustible, there is an immense need to decrease the risk of fire-related accidents by using flame retardant compounds. Furthermore, with an elevation of health and safety hazards, companies such as Huber Engineered Materials have launched non-hazardous materials. These non-hazardous materials are environment-friendly products that are used as per the instructions by the legislative directives, especially in Japan and Europe. In addition to this, major end-user industries using ATH flame retardant are construction, transportation, furnishing, and electronics. The demand for ATH flame retardant is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 4.18% during the forecast period 2018-2023. Moreover, the global alumina trihydrate flame retardant market revenue is poised to reach $689 million by 2023.

According to the Our World in Data Organization, the annual number of deaths caused due to fire evaluated in 2016 was 132 million globally.[ ]An increase in the number of deaths and fire-related injuries have strengthened the demand and reaped the market revenue of ATH flame retardant. The major factors that are driving the growth of the market are the growing awareness on fire safety, stringent governmental regulations associated with the prohibition on the use of halogenated flame retardants, and an increase in the market penetration in various industries catered by ATH flame retardants. An emerging trend that has a direct impact on the ATH flame retardant industry are the use of non-halogenated flame retardants by the OEM’s and the growing consumption of nano-particle ATH. Furthermore,due to the fast-growing construction and electronics industry, the consumption of ATH flame retardants is considerably high in America due to availability of low price raw materials and comparatively less labor cost.

North America is leading the global alumina trihydrate flame retardant market with a regional value of $211 million in 2017, growing at a CAGR of 3.32% during the forecast period. This is attributed to the growing end-user industries such as construction, transportation, and electronics in North America such as the U.S, Canada, and Mexico. Additionally, a rapid increase in the infrastructural development in the region is contributing to a rise in the levels of fire safety concerns, enhancing the ATH flame retardant market growth. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation report, the country net value of transportation was estimated at $7.7 trillion in 2016.[ ] The widespread use of plastic formulations within the transport industry continues to make fire safety a top priority, driving the need for more efficient flame retardant. In addition to that, the manufacturing sector in Mexico accounted for 17% of the total GDP in 2016.  The growing manufacturing units in the region is simultaneously increasing the demand for ATH flame retardants. The increase in the demand for the consumption of filler is another factor that is boosting the need of the alumina trihydrate in the region. The expanding automobile sector and increased textile business in North America is driving the use of flame retardants in the respective applications. Accordingly, due to an increase in the population, the government across the region is investing in building accommodations using proper flame retardant materials in order to avoid increasing fire accidents. Hence, the demand for the ATH flame retardant market is gaining prominence in North America. 

The fastest growing segment in the ATH flame retardant market is filler. Filler application is experiencing an upsurge due to growing advancements in fire retardant technologies. The market revenue for filler is poised to reach $539 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 4.36% through to 2023. Furthermore, Polyethylene and PVC are the two major markets of ATH as flame retardant filler. They are widely used in roofing and various thermoset applications. The spurring demand for plastics especially polyethylene and PVC are boosting the ATH flame retardant market growth. Moreover, wire and cable insulation formulations are mainly made up of partial replacement of ATH with calcium carbonate, with and without situ treatment with additives. China has the major market for the ATH flame retardant filler as the Chinese manufacturers are producing more non-halogenated flame retardant due to environmental policies and improved fire regulations.

The huge demand for halogen-free flame retardants is anticipated to spur the growth for the buildings and construction vertical. They are used in building materials and products to meet the significant fire safety standards and codes. Moreover, they are designed to slow the speed of fire and to stop the fire, which helps in providing critical escape time. The flame retardants are used to raise the threshold temperature at which a material minimizes the spread of flames and reduces the rate at which materials burn. The most hazardous types of building materials that require fire-protective benefits are electric wires & cables, structural elements, and insulation. Owing to the fire safety precautions, the ATH flame retardant market is witnessing growth globally.

The demandfor nanoparticles ATH has increased in recent times in applications such as the construction industry due to their tiny size. The nanoparticles have a large surface area due to which they are suitable for various applications. Along with this, the optical properties are also dominating the size therefore that increases the value of these materials in photocatalytic applications. The synthetic techniques are immensely useful to control the specific size, magnetic, and morphology properties. Furthermore, the products enabled with nanotechnology are proliferating on the store shelves of the U.S. 

The government has taken various initiatives to reduce the number of incidents happening across the globe.Due to the introduction of voluntary flammability standards, the use of flame retardant plastics in the TV accessories and enclosures has led to a substantial reduction in the number of TV-initiated fires. With the use of ATH flame retardants, many lives are being saved from the TV enclosure fire incidents. The other few more initiatives startedby the government are The Toxic Substance Control Act, State-by-State Regulation, and US Consumer Product Safety Commission. These initiatives and investments made by the government have created a huge market for ATH, which is growing efficiently and has become the largest selling fire retardant additives in the world. Hence, the ATH flame retardant market is expected to rise in the coming years.

The major players dominating the alumina trihydrate flame retardant market are TOR Minerals, Huber Engineered Materials, The R.J Marshall Company, Almatis GMBH, Showa Denko K.K, Ashland Global Holdings Inc., Nabaltec AG, Israel Chemicals Ltd, Jinan Taixing Fine Chemicals Co. Ltd., and Hubron Specialty Ltd. For instance, TOR Minerals in 2017, launched a new generation of low smoke flame retardant ATH. The company is fulfilling the needs of its customers for specialty alumina trihydrate (ATH) products that provide low viscosity behavior at higher loadings. Along with this, the two new grades of aluminum oxihydrate have been developed by TOR which is highly cost-effective, high-temperature flame-retardant and smoke suppressant filler for applications in halogen-free polymer system and paints and coatings industries. Thus, there is a rapid increase in the demand for ATH flame retardant owing to the investments made by the major players.

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