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Weekly selected highlights in flow control, treatment and combustion from the many McIlvaine publications.

·       High Performance Cartridges Represent Thirty Percent of the Market

·       Forecasting Combust, Flow and Treat Purchases of OEMs

·       Shale Oil and Gas will be Top Markets for Combust, Flow and Treat Products

·       Gas Turbine Power Plants are Leading the Way in the Adoption of IIoT and Remote O&M

High Performance Cartridges Represent Thirty Percent of the Market

Liquid cartridges can be segmented by construction. String wound are commodity designs as are some nonwovens.  However there are high performance nonwovens and membrane cartridges which are used in critical applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical and semiconductor industry.  This high performance segment of the market accounts for 30% of the total. This percentage is based on revenues not units since the high performance cartridges are much more expensive than the commodity designs.  The market for cartridges to purify liquids will reach $20 billion worldwide by 2024. This is the latest prediction of the McIlvaine Company in N024 Cartridge Filters: World Market.

The report also provides projected purchases for hundreds of semiconductor, pharmaceutical, chemical, food and beverage companies.

Commercial and residential purchasers will account for half the total market which includes membrane, non-woven, string wound and metal cartridges. However in the membrane segment the pharmaceutical industry will be the largest purchaser followed by health care and then the chemical industry.

Membrane cartridge sales will increase faster than total cartridge sales due to the higher efficiency and improvements in membrane technology. Industry consolidation is expected to continue and to accelerate due to the utilization of remote monitoring technology to continually assess cartridge filter health and performance. The large filter companies such as Mann + Hummel, Parker Hannifin and Donaldson are investing heavily in remote monitoring systems. This will allow them to provide comprehensive service and replacement programs.

One division of Parker already supplies replacements for all the filters in a plant including those supplied by competitors. Many plants have thousands of cartridges. So the supply of replacements carries with it a high administrative cost relative to filter price. Blue tooth technology can be imbedded in pressure sensors attached to each filter at nominal cost. When pressure levels reach a pre-determined point the replacement filters can be automatically ordered.

For more information on this forecast click on N024 Cartridge Filters: World Market.

Forecasting Combust, Flow and Treat Purchases of OEMs

It is now possible to forecast purchases of valves, pumps, instrumentation, fans, compressors, nozzles, filters, centrifuges and other products and services used in applications involving combustion, flow and treatment (CFT). There are forecasts for owners and forecasts for OEMs.  Forecasts are provided for thousands of companies comprising over 90 percent of the market.  These forecasts can be uploaded into the supplier CRM System. Most of the repair, replace and upgrade decisions will be made by the end users. Decisions regarding CFT products for new systems will be made by the OEMs but with specifications provided by the owner.

The owner forecasts are easily predictable.  The forecasts of purchases by OEMS are difficult because the OEM sales revenue can fluctuate greatly from year to year. However, average annual estimates for the next five years can be provided along with details on large projects which will have near term impact.   The purpose is not to identify specific sales leads but to provide insights to further assist in an ongoing sales program.  

The big advantage of a sales program based on purchase forecasts is the opportunity to work with the customer on a continuing basis and position the supplier for favorable consideration when specific projects do occur. McIlvaine tracks large project activity in many different industries with databases and alerts.

One important CFT component purchaser is the merged Mitsubishi-Hitachi group. A new division within the group is Power & Energy Systems Business (PESB).  This group includes the operations designing, delivering and supporting combustion systems. The group has been the leading supplier of gas turbines worldwide in the most recent quarter.  It has full involvement in coal fired boilers and is the world's largest supplier of Flue Gas Desulfurization Systems outside of China.

PESB has adopted a new solution service process known as "CAP-D". "C" stands for "communication" with the customer and the market. "A" stands for "analysis" in order to provide optimal solutions. "P" stands for "product" and finding the exact products and technologies to resolve the customer's needs. Finally, "D" stands for "delivery of service" and the provision of compound services.

From the sales perspective of component suppliers this new initiative offers an additional route to replacement and repair revenue.  PESB is analyzing products and providing services for monitoring and replacement.  PESB therefore becomes a purchaser of CFT components for the initial installation but also for replacement and service on a continuing basis.

McIlvaine is providing the purchase forecasts for each CFT OEM but also supplying details on major projects.  The Utility E Alert published weekly by the McIlvaine company contains two articles about MHPS projects in the Alert issued June 29, 2018.  The first involves environmental systems upgrade work at Unit 3 of the Boryeong Power Station operated by Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd. (KOMIPO). These systems incorporate valves, pumps, oxidation compressor, nozzles and other CFT components.   The second details an upgrade of the boiler combustion tuning system using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies at Taiwan Power Company's Linkou Thermal Power Plants. Both projects include a range of liquid, gas and free flowing solids measurement devices.

The sales program based on forecasting end user and OEM purchases is not founded on sales leads such as details on these two projects. Instead the program is built on establishing long term relationships with customers.  On the other hand information on major projects is an additional tool which can be useful.

For more details on the sales program based on OEM and end user forecasts click on www.mcilvainecmpany.com

For more information on  power plant project tracking  click on 42EI Utility Tracking System and

59EI Gas Turbine and Reciprocating Engine Supplier Program

Shale Oil and Gas will be Top Markets for Combust, Flow and Treat Products

Shale oil and gas are contributing to solid growth in the U.S. economy and increasing markets for combust, flow and treat companies.  The opportunities lie in production, transportation and processing.  This opportunity is analyzed in a free video at   https://youtu.be/UxZCfMhBJ7k

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) empowered by the Industrial Internet of Wisdom (IIoW) will play a large role in the competition between oil and gas extracted from shale in the U.S. and conventional extraction in the Middle East and elsewhere.  The IIoT components can be segmented into guide, control and measure.

Extraction: The large number of components needed in shale fracturing creates a big opportunity for IIoT. A mobile fracturing unit can be equipped with real time monitoring of acidizing units, fracking pumps, chemical additive units, blenders, large generators and other components. The specific signals analyzed include pressure signals, oil temperature signals, horsepower signals, rpm signals and other parameters.

Transportation:  New gas pipelines are boosting output from shale fields in three states by giving producers access to new domestic and international markets.

The U.S. is now a net exporter of natural gas for the first time since 1957 due to increased sales to Mexico, the opening of new markets through liquefied natural gas and declining imports from Canada. The United States is shipping LNG to at least 20 foreign markets and exports of LNG will continue to grow as terminals on the Gulf Coast reach capacity and companies expand or develop new terminals.

Shale oil transportation is handicapped by the lack of east-west routes. More pipelines are needed to accommodate the increasing production.

IIoT and remote O&M are very cost effective due to the remote location of many operations.  For example, gas with H₂S is piped from the Eagle Ford basin.  Gas driven emergency shut off valves are not an option because of the H₂S. The location is remote from any electrical supply.  The solution was a remotely monitored battery operated valve.

Processing:  Refineries are expanding to accommodate the increasing oil production. Significant quantities of gas are being converted to LNG.  Other processes include the utilization of by-products. Shale gas produces by-product liquids. Shell Chemicals' $6 billion ethane cracker being built in Beaver County, PA is just one of 13 ethane crackers being built between 2017 and 2021.

Shale oil produces significant amounts of by-product methane. New regulations are limiting flaring of this gas and requiring processing and utilization.  All these processes contain many valves, pumps, and treatment modules which can be remotely monitored and controlled.

Information on the IIoT shale opportunity is supplied in N031 Industrial IOT and Remote O&M.

Details on the projects and participants are covered in N049 Oil, Gas, Shale and Refining Markets and Projects

Gas Turbine Power Plants are Leading the Way in the Adoption of IIoT and Remote O&M

A free webinar relative to the growth of IIoT for the enhanced performance of combust, flow and treat products in gas turbine power plants can be viewed at https://youtu.be/OBeeTfWgb9A .   

The U.S has the largest inventory of gas turbine power plants.  Due to the low cost of gas there will be a steady increase in new plants.  Owners are tasked with meeting tough environmental regulations while striving to minimize the cost of operations.   Efficiency is a key cost factor. The optimum operation and maintenance of pumps, valves, rotating elements, catalyst and other components can now be achieved thanks to improvements in the guide, control and measure products.

Forecasts and tracking of gas turbine projects are provided in Gas Turbine Supplier Program

The use of IIoT in the power and other industries is analyzed in IIoT and Remote O&M