Global High Purity Methane Gas Market - 2022-2029

Market Overview

The global high purity methane gas market reached US$ XX million in 2021 and is expected to reach US$ XX million by 2029, growing at a CAGR of XX% during the forecast period 2022-2029.

High-purity methane gas is utilized in the manufacturing process of electronics devices such as solar cells. High-purity methane gas is attracting demand in the fields of leading-edge technologies such as nanoparticle diamond and graphene. High-purity methane has been utilized as a carbon source in the production of carbide tools and photoreceptor drums. Ever purer and stable quality has been demanded over the years.

Various companies manufacture pure methane gas with up to 99.999% purity, which is used in multiple applications, including radiation detection, chemical synthesis and flame gas. Operating procedures determine the purity and recovery of the product. Thus, several researchers are setting their goal to improve profit by controlling operating procedures. Among upgrading processes, the Pressure Swing Adsorption is suited for separating high purity methane gas in terms of economics.

Market Dynamics

The global high purity methane gas market is boosted by the rising demand for natural alternative energy sources.

Rising demand for natural alternative energy sources

High purity methane gas from biogas has been magnified as an alternative energy source. Gas above 95% purity can be used as fuel for transportation. However, only gas above 97% purity can be distributed via pipelines for domestic usage. Thus, several researchers are setting their goal to improve profit by controlling operating procedures. Among upgrading processes, the Pressure Swing Adsorption is relevant for separating high purity methane gas in terms of economics. More than 500 landfill-to-energy projects are now operating in the U.S and another 500 landfills are ideal for turning their methane into an energy resource, which would deliver enough electricity to power nearly 688,000 homes across the nation.

Rwanda's government has inaugurated a power plant that uses methane gas from Lake Kivu, adding 26 megawatts to the grid in a country where only a quarter of the population is connected to an electricity supply. The KivuWatt plant developed by ContourGlobal is the first phase in the scheme to add over 100 MW exploiting the lake's methane. The firm has added 75 MW in three 25 MW installments between 2018 and 2019. Rwanda has given 70% of its 11 million people access to power from the grid, or off-grid supplies, by 2018.

Problems during transportation and storage of gas

Several incidents have occurred on these high pressure, unregulated lines, tragically leading to injuries, fatalities and large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Over 1,000 metric tons of high-global-warming-potential methane gas are emitted, on average, with each pipeline rupture. A single rupture from a high-pressure gas pipeline can release more than 1,300 metric tons of methane emissions into the atmosphere.

Governments have implemented various standards on the transportation and storage of methane gas due to its potential hazards. Gathering pipelines can leak methane due to damage to pipelines. Still, most of the leakage occurs from equipment along the pipelines, such as compressors that boost the gas pressure to move it along the pipelines.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The pandemic has negatively impacted the high purity methane demand and production. Moreover, there was a sudden hike in the prices of methane gas, which has affected business. The collapse in oil prices and decreased energy demand will have a broader impact on fossil fuel investments. Over 60 % of methane gas exports take the form of long-term contracts (generally 15-25 years) tied to oil prices. The contracts are essential for pipeline or LNG producers to regain their high investment costs while providing supply reliability and pricing for consumers. Sustained low oil prices could damage gas producers that rely on linked contracts.

The pandemic has led to a 25 % decline in coal prices as it faces severe criticism for its environmentally damaging effects, including high GHG emissions and harmful air pollution. Methane gas generates fewer GHG emissions and less air pollution than coal, so numerous policy-makers see it as a valuable bridge fuel in the energy transition. Low gas prices could encourage switching to this fuel in industrial sectors that generally rely on coal use, including steel production and heating and electricity generation.

Segment Analysis

The global high purity methane gas market is segmented based on storage & distribution and transportation, application, end-user and region.

Growing focus on chemical synthesis will boost the demand for high purity methane gas

The global high purity methane gas market is segmented into transportation & automotive, electrical & electronics, chemical, medical, and others based on end-user.

The chemical industry derives chemical value from methane in the form of ammonia and methanol. The synthesis gas is produced when a blend of methane and steam passes over the heated nickel supported on alumina used in the chemical industry to prepare different chemicals. It is largely utilized as a natural source of hydrogen gas in the chemical industry. Methane is a cost-effective existing as a naturally available gas. Presently, the usefulness of methane gas grants significance in chemical synthesis because it can convert itself into syngas. Direct incomplete syngas oxidation to chemical compounds such as CH3OHe very useful organic compounds for carrying several organic reactions and is also used as fuel. The functionalization of methane gas through the catalytical process is one of the great interests of researchers as the partially oxidized methane product has higher reactivity and less intrinsic reactivity. In the last few decades, scientists have been motivated by the promising production of chemicals from the existing methane under mild conditions for chemical synthesis with low energy consumption and climate remediation.

Geographical Analysis

Growing utilization of natural gas vehicles will boost demand for high purity methane gas in North America

Natural gas is used for various power generation, domestic use and transportation applications. It is the dominant alternative road transport fuel in addition to ethanol. Since natural gas includes mainly methane, biomethane or electro-methane can be used as a substitute. Methane is primarily used in compressed form (compressed natural gas) in light-duty vehicles in road transport vehicles. Natural gas powers over 175,000 cars in the U.S and roughly 23 million cars worldwide. In 2019, the U.S Department of Energy had invested nearly US$ 3.5 million in projects to advance natural gas vehicle technologies. The announcement also contains US$ 10.2 million in advanced methane storage.

Moreover, various projects are currently operations in the region, which will boost the demand for the high purity methane gas market. The Waste to Biopower partnership will be guided by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. It will be a platform to create waste-to-energy technologies from each institution and then test them with the industry. The IBET partnership utilizes developments in advanced bioreactor design, separations and process modeling and control. The industry will produce large-scale high-purity methane from mixed organic waste streams and back a circular economy through the platform.

Competitive Landscape

The global high purity methane gas market is highly consolidated and has only a limited number of players. Players in the market include Air Liquide, Osaka Gas, Bhuruka Gases Limited, Sumitomo Seika, Linde Plc, SAE Manufacturing Specialties Corp, Matheson Tri-Gas Inc, Middlesex Gases & Technologies, Inc., SOS Gases, Inc., CryoCarb, among others.

Air Liquide

Overview: Air Liquide is a leader in gases, technologies and services and is present in 78 countries. The company has over 64,500 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. The company offers various types of gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. Air Liquide's ambition is to deliver long-term performance and contribute to sustainability, committing to climate change and energy transition.

Product Portfolio

Methane: The company manufactures pure methane gas with up to 99.999% purity for various applications, including chemical synthesis and radiation detection. Methane is also available as multiple specialty gas mixtures, including hydrocarbon chromatographic standards and natural gas and liquid standards, including calorimetric. When smaller quantities of gas are needed, the company offers methane in two-component and multi-component gas mixtures in nonreturnable transportable, including paraffin and TO mixtures used in industrial hygiene and laboratory applications.

Key Development: In 2020, Air Liquide and BASF signed three new long-term contracts in the Antwerp basin. As part of the contact, air liquide will purchase part of the methane fraction during the BASF production process and valorize it as a feedstock in its hydrogen production plants, contributing to the circular economy and reducing CO2 emissions.

Why Purchase the Report?

To visualize the global high purity methane gas market segmentation by storage & distribution and transportation, application, end-user and region and understand key commercial assets and players.

Identify commercial opportunities in the global high purity methane gas market by analyzing trends and co-development.

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The global high purity methane gas market report would provide approximately 61 tables, 59 figures and almost 215 pages.

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