Municipal wastewater plants are expected to spend $1.6 billion for instruments and controls to monitor air and water pollutants next year, according to a report by the McIlvaine Company.
East Asia is projected to be the largest purchaser and account for over one third of the total market, due in large part to the many new treatment plants being built to accommodate the urban migration in the region.
RELATED: Asia to Account for 45% of the Air & Water Monitoring Market in 2013
In the United States and Western Europe, most of the expenditures are related to efforts to automate and increase plant performance. For example, instruments to measure sludge dryness are allowing operators to reduce polymer costs along with providing a more consistent sludge, resulting in lower fuel consumption in the sludge incinerator.
Municipal wastewater plants are served with sewer systems often stretching for many miles. Remote monitoring provided by suppliers helps avoid plugging, overflow, and other problems. Monitoring is utilized for:
• Wastewater network investigations
• Pump station control
• Pipeline condition assessment
• Overflow alarming
• Source tracing
• Leak detection
The report shows that most of the investment will be in water-related monitoring; however, 10 percent of the total will be for air monitoring.
