Market Overview and Growth Highlights 2014-2025
Asia-Pacific fumed silica market is gaining traction on account of various applications such as paint & coatings majorly in developing economies such as India and China. This booming market is supported by huge demand from end use industries. Fumed silica is also known as pyrogenic silica for its process of synthesis by pyrolysis method. It acts as a universal thickening agent and thus, has various applications across chemicals, food & beverage, pharmaceutical and other industries. In 2019, the Asia-Pacific fumed silica market accounted for a market value of USD 436.39 million and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.71%, over the forecast period of 2021-2025. This growth can be attributed to the growing investments in various fumed silica production plants across the region. Various major paint production companies in Asia-pacific such as Asia Paints, Berger Paints, and others are investing huge amounts of money to increase their production capacities and meet the growing demand from various industries.
Market Segment Synopsis
By Product
The Asia-Pacific fumed silica market is segmented by product into hydrophilic and hydrophobic. The hydrophilic segment accounted for USD 184.29 million in 2014 and is estimated to grow by registering a significant CAGR over the forecast period. The growing demand for hydrophilic fumed silica from various end-user sectors such as paints & coatings, pharmaceutical, adhesives & sealant, and others, accounts for the product's benefits. Hydrophilic fumed silica is primarily utilized to enable thixotropic properties in adhesives and coatings and is used across the pharmaceutical industry to improve the flow properties, thus enabling uniformity in active ingredient content of the tablet/capsule.
By Application
The Asia-Pacific fumed silica market is segmented by application into pharmaceutical, beauty & personal care; silicone elastomer; paints, coatings & inks; UPR; adhesives & sealants; food & beverages, and others. Out of these, paints, coatings & inks segment accounted for the market share of 35.7% in 2019 and is estimated to grow up to USD 233.53 million by 2025, by growing at a CAGR of 7.10% over the forecast period. The growing investments from major players of the paint & coatings industry to increase their production capacity is anticipated to drive the demand for fumed silica across the industry. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD SAMPLE REPORT
Market Drivers & Challenges
Growth Drivers
Growing Application of Fumed Silica In Pharmaceuticals To Drive The Market Growth
The anti-static property of fumed silica helps to improve the powder's flow properties by reducing the static charges and friction in the high-speed capsule and tablet production machines. Moreover, during the early stages of compression, fumed silica aids in the rearrangement of the particles, thus improving the bonding strength, enabling increased tablet hardness and more compact tablets/capsules. The growth in fumed silica applications across the pharmaceutical industry is anticipated to drive the growth of fumed silica market across the Asia-Pacific region.
Growing Applications of Fumed Silica in the Paints & Coatings Industry
There is a huge growth in the demand for fumed silica from the paints, coatings and inks industry on the back of its growing applications. Fumed silica is majorly used for viscosity adjustments and inducing thixotropic behavior. The use of fumed silica offers enhanced chemical & corrosion resistance, better mechanical reinforcement & rheology control. The three-dimensional structure of the fumed silica efficiently enables sagging in coating and paints. These factors are anticipated to drive the growth of Asia-Pacific fumed silica market over the forecast period.
Barriers
Threat From Substitutes Such As Precipitated Silica and Growing Popularity Of Eco-Friendly Products
Precipitated silica is one of the significant substitutes of fumed silica. The use of precipitated silica as matting agents offers better performance in achieving gloss reduction in paints than fumed silica and thus acts as a threat to the market growth during the forecast period. The availability of alternatives such as bio-genic fumed silica and the growing demand for the bio-based product across the region are anticipated to hamper the growth of the fumed silica market over the forecast period. Moreover, the increasing popularity of eco-friendly paints and stringent government regulations for the paint composition is expected to hamper the demand for fumed silica from the paints & coatings industry.
Top Featured Companies Dominating the Market
Some of the key players of the market are Cabot Corporation, OCI Company Ltd., Evonik Industries AG, Tokuyama Corporation, Kemitura Group, Orisil, Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group Co. Ltd, Henan Xunyu Chemical Co., Ltd, Wacker Chemie AG, and others.
