Nonwoven materials (such as: Non Woven Face Mask or non woven bouffant cap) will continue to see healthy growth in global markets for the next several years, with medical and filtration applications continuing to be mainstay drivers of expanding use. 

  The market for nonwovens especially in non woven face mask and Non Woven Bouffant Cap are forecast to grow from $3.5 billion in 2014 to $4.6 billion in 2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent, according to a new study by Smithers Apex. At the same time, the worldwide market for medical nonwovens is forecast to reach $2 billion in four years.

  The slow and uneven recovery of global economies after the recession has had a significant impact upon the growth of nonwovens for filtration. With some of the key markets in automotive and construction still growing slowly in some regions, filtration nonwovens have had to aggressively replace older filter media materials, like paper and textiles, as well as enhance performance in order to maintain growth at 5.6 percent per year.

  The Smithers Apex study, The Future of Nonwovens for Filtration to 2019, shows that the market for filtration nonwovens is growing because of both the overall growth in the filtration market and the replacement of textile and paper filter media. Despite problems in the global economic recovery, the filtration market as a whole has still seen positive growth due to some of the key end-uses for filter media being driven by the increasing demand for cleaner water and air, for protection against pandemic diseases, and for energy conservation.

  One of the key ways the market for filtration can be broken down is based on the physical state of the material to be filtered -- either air/gas or liquid. It is necessary to make this distinction because the construction of the complete filter is very different based on the environment of the filter; a liquid-immersed filter and filter media has requirements that are very different from one in dry air.