Low Foam Surfactants Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Low Foam Surfactants Market Overview

The low foam surfactants market size is estimated to reach USD 23.6 billion by 2027 after growing at a CAGR of around 5.2% from 2022 to 2027. The low foam surfactants are suitable for various cleaning usages. Various alcohol alkoxylate grades of low foam surfactants offer low foaming features, wetting, low surface tension, emulsification, and others. It has major applications such as textile processing, pigment dispersion, metal cleaning, home care detergents, and others. Moreover, the amphoteric surfactant offers low foaming and is used as a major cleaning formula. The low foam surfactant market is experiencing major growth prospects in personal care and industrial cleaning applications. The low foam surface industry is driven by the rising demand for greener or sustainable surfactants across various end-use industries. Furthermore, increasing use in-home care segment is influencing high demand in the low foam surfactants market in the forecast period.

COVID-19 Impact

The low foam surfactant industry was hampered by the covid-19 pandemic. The low foam surfactants are used in the home and personal care sector, oilfields, chemicals, and others. The market was disturbed during the initial stages of the pandemic, due to various disruptions. The major disruptions such as supply chain disturbance, the decline in demand, production halts, and other lockdown restrictions across the world disturbed the market. The oilfield sector was majorly impacted. The oil and gas industry was hampered due to declining oil explorations and productions, as its consumption demand was negative during covid-19. With falling prices and declining production, the oilfield activities were halted. According to Energy Information Administration (EIA), oil production saw a decline by almost 90,000 barrels in a day in 2020. This led to a fall in low foam surfactants application such as emulsifiers and oil recovery in 2020. Furthermore, the home and personal care industry saw a high demand during the pandemic. However, this high demand was not fulfilled with regular supply, thereby creating high demand and supply gap during the initial phase of covid. With, the rising hygiene awareness and high growth in cleaning applications, the surge in the demand for cleaning agents, floor cleaners, detergents, and others were experienced, thereby leading to a surge in the low foam surfactants market. The market of low foam surfactants will continue to grow post-pandemic.

Low Foam Surfactants Market Report Coverage

The low foam surfactants market report: “Low Foam Surfactants Market– Forecast (2022-2027)” by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the low foam surfactants market and offers low foam surfactants industry outlook.

By Type: Non-ionic Surfactant, Cationic Surfactant, Amphoteric Surfactant
By Application: Detergent & Cleaning Agents, Floor Cleaners, Agrochemicals, Paper & Pulp, Textile Processing, Metal Cleaning, and Others
By End-Use Industry: Home & Personal Care Industry, Textile Industry, Chemical & Petrochemical Industry, and Others
By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Rest of the Middle East) and Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Rest of Africa)

Key Takeaways

• The market for low foam surfactants is growing due to wide applications such as laundry detergents, cleaning agents, floor cleaners, oilfields, textile processing, paints, and others in the forecast period.
• The Asia Pacific region holds the largest share and is creating major demand for low foam surfactants market due to rising consumption for home and personal care cleaning products in nations such as China and India, owing to awareness for hygiene and cleanliness.
• The rising demand for non-ionic surfactants is driving the market due to major uses in industrial and consumer sectors and eco-friendly approaches in the forecast period.

Low Foam Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Type

By type, the non-ionic surfactant segment is expected to have the largest share of over 35% in the low foam surfactants market and will dominate the market in the coming years. The non-ionic surfactants offer better emulsification, less foam, and less water solubility. The nonionic alkoxylates with propylene oxide and ethylene content give excellent cleaning performance. The demand for non-ionic low foam surfactants is increasing due to major applications in cleaners and detergents for the home and personal care sector. For instance, Henkel Company established full automated Laundry & Home Care warehouse in Spain, with an investment worth USD 25 million in 2020. Furthermore, with the increasing awareness for hygiene and cleaning during a pandemic, the demand for home cleaning products such as detergents, disinfecting soaps, hard surface cleaners, and others saw a drastic growth. Thus, the demand for non-ionic low foam surfactants is growing in the coming years.

Low Foam Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Application

By application, the detergents & cleaning agents segment held the largest growth share with 40% in 2021 and is expected to increase the low foam surfactants market size in the coming years. The growth of laundry detergents and cleaners for home and industrial applications has created a major demand for the low foam surfactants industry. For the applications in personal care, the low foams surfactants provide excellent antimicrobial, conditioning, foaming, preservative, and detergency actions. Furthermore, the growing concern for cleaning and hygiene in homes and infection-prone surfaces is influencing the demand for detergent, surface cleaners, disinfectant dish wash, floor cleaners, and others. For instance, Merry Maids, a ServiceMaster firm has announced a collaboration with the 3M to provide science-based cleaning solutions to the customers. The low foaming liquid, as well as powder laundry detergent, is growing with rising consumption in households and industrial applications. Furthermore, the rising demand for sustainable and greener surfactants is anticipated to drive the market. Thus, with excellent washing properties and low foaming, the demand for detergents and cleaning agents is increasing the low foam surfactants market share during the forecast period.

Low Foam Surfactants Market Segment Analysis- By End-Use Industry

By end-use industry, the home & personal care segment is expected to have the largest share of more than 35% in 2021 and is expected to dominate the low foam surfactants market in the forecast period. The demand for home and personal care products is increasing across the world, majorly in China and India due to the rise in consumption of cleaning products. The excellent properties of low foam surfactants such as low foaming, wetting, emulsifying, and washing performances are driving the application in various sectors. However, the changing lifestyle and hygiene awareness is anticipating the growth of detergents, surface cleaners, soaps, and others. According to the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA), the value of the market is around USD 180 billion for the home care items such as detergents, disinfectants, cleaners, and others. Thus, with the rising demand for home care and personal care products for cleaning and hygiene maintenance, the growth opportunities for low foam surfactants will rise during the forecast period.

Low Foam Surfactants Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

By geographical analysis, the Asia pacific holds the largest share of more than 41% in the low foam surfactants market for the year 2021. The growth in production for low foam surfactants and increasing consumption of washing powders, soap, cleaners, and others are creating demand for the low foam surfactants market in this region. China is majorly contributing to the market due to fast-establishing end-use industries. The rising cleanliness awareness and hygiene in nations such as China, India, and others are creating a drive for the low foam surfactants industry. According to International Trade Administration, the market in China expanded by 150% from 2012 to 2020, with spending on personal care, cosmetic items, and household items. Moreover, the growth in homes & personal care products such as toilet soaps, detergents, cleaners, and others is influencing the demand in this region. Thus, with increasing hygiene initiatives and cleaning applications, the Asia Pacific region will dominate the low foam surfactants industry in the forecast period.

Low Foam Surfactants Market– Drivers

Rising Demand from Home & Personal Care and Textiles Sector

The demand for home cleaning and personal care sector is rising with the changing lifestyle and awareness for cleaning and hygiene. The growth in the home & personal care industry is creating a drive in the low foam surfactants market. The increasing consumption of washing powders, laundry detergents, soaps, surface cleaners, and others is increasing the demand for low foam surfactants for both industrial as well as consumer applications. The detergents and cleaning agents are dominating the market due to their wide applications across households and industries. Furthermore, the shift towards bio-based surfactants is also offering major growth opportunities for the low foam surfactants. The textile segment also uses low foam surfactants for textile processing and pre-treatment procedures. Furthermore, with the growing apparel and textile sector, the demand for low foam surfactants will grow.

Increasing Cleanliness And Hygiene Awareness

The low foam surfactants have major cleaning applications in the home, industries, hospitals, and other segments. The increasing awareness regarding cleanliness and hygiene is driving the market for low foam surfactants. The consumption of detergents, disinfecting soaps, surface cleaners, floor cleaners, and others has dominantly increased during the pandemic. Furthermore, the changing lifestyle trends and hygiene development projects are influencing the growth of the low foam surfactants market. For instance, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had launched the “Achi Aadat” campaign in India to inculcate cleaning practices among the natives of India. This has led to an increase in demand for cleaning and personal care products in major nations such as India, China, Japan, and others across the world. Thus, the growth for low foam surfactants was high owing to cleanliness and hygiene maintenance in households and industries.

Low Foam Surfactants Market– Challenges

Toxicity of non-ionic surfactants

Non-ionic surfactants have an increasing number of applications in various end-use industries. It is used in detergents, cleaners, and others for home as well as industrial applications. However, the toxicity and major environmental impacts are associated with it. The non-ionic surfactant type is considered one of the most toxic types in surfactants. The extensive application of surfactants in detergent leads to aquatic, human, and animal life risks, due to penetration with water in wastewater plants. The Environment Protection Agency has specified the choice criteria for surfactants under the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). Moreover, government restrictions on the usage of toxic chemicals are restricting the growth and consumption of synthetic surfactants in the market.

Low Foam Surfactants Industry Outlook

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies that are adopted by the dominant players in the Low Foam Surfactants market. The major low foam surfactants top 10 companies include:

1. BASF SE
2. Clariant AG
3. Stepan Company
4. Oxiteno SA
5. Kao Corporation
6. Croda International
7. Evonik Industries
8. AkzoNovel N.V.
9. Galaxy Surfactants
10. Huntsman Corporation

Recent Developments

• In October 2019, BASF SE planned to increase the alkyl polyglucoside (APG) production from around 20 kilotons to 30 kilotons in China. This APG is a surfactant that is majorly used in the personal care sector.
• In July 2020, the Pilot Chemical Company launched the Aspire Surfactant Blends, which is a highly processable and versatile blend of anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants.

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