Geomembranes are very low permeability synthetic membranes liners that are used to control fluid or gas migration across a wide range of applications such as mining, water and waste management, and tunnel liners. The demand for geomembranes used in tunnel liners is growing significantly in the markets of U.S. and Canada due to an increase in construction activities. Mining is the largest application of geomembranes as it is done for some commonly used metals such as copper, magnesium, and gold.
The countries in South America like Peru and Chile are one of the largest markets for geomembranes. In the European region, Russia and Germany are forecast to grow at a faster rate as compared to the other countries in Europe. In the APAC region, India, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia and Singapore are the top growing markets. India is forecast to be a potential market for geomembranes due to the new laws and regulations set by its government regarding water and waste management.
The major material used in the manufacturing geomembranes are HDPE, LDPE, EPDM, PVC, PP, and others. HDPE and LDPE together enjoy about 65% market share due to their cost effectiveness and material availability. EPDM is one of the important emerging material for the manufacturing of geomembranes due to its wide range of advantages in the field of water management. They can perform in the most challenging environments and can be used in agricultural pits, canals, evaporation ponds, water reservoirs and so on.
Increase in the regulation of ground water activity, strong regulatory framework related to water contamination laws, increased mining activities, protocol related to solid waste generation, strict fracking laws practised globally are the drivers of the demand in the geomembranes market for the future. Currently, due to no stringent laws and regulations practised regarding sustainability and environment protection in some regions of Africa and the Middle East, the demand for geomembranes is very low. However, it promises to be a significant market in the future.
The leading players in the geomembranes market include GSE Environmental (U.S.), Nilex (U.S.), Solmax (U.S.), Agru America (U.S.), Juta (Czech Republic), and Naue (Germany).
