February 2012

Analysis of the Global Nanofibers market:Insights on this nascent market, its gradual commercialization and impact on different industries

Market Definition

Nanofibers: Market Definition

Nanofibers of 200 nm of mean diameter

Fibers with diameter of less than one micon or 1000

nanometers

Electrospinning being the primary method of creating

it on an industrial scale

Other methods used for its production include:

forcespinning, template synthesis, electroblowing

etc.

High surface area, high porosity and mechanical strength are some of its popular characteristics

Proving to be a boon for the textile and filtration

industry

Some of the polymers used in its production are: nylon,

polystyrene, PET, polyacrylonitrile, polyramide etc.

Nanofibers

102

136

183

246

330

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50

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150

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350

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Mar

ket s

ales

($m

n)

Year

Global Overview: This niche market is forecasted to grow at a massive rate during the next five years

According to Nafigate - a nanofibers research and development portal, the revenues of the global nanofibers market is expected to reach USD330mn in 2014 from USD102mn in 2010.

Market Sales of Nanofibers, globally (2010-2014)

Source: Nafigate, nanofibers gateway

Nanofibers market is expected to be one of the fastest emerging markets, growing at a CAGR of 34.1% during 2010-14

Reasons for the small market revenues are:

This market is in a very nascent stage

Technology used for production of these fibers have not been in line with demand and applications.

In addition, high production cost and association with products with high price tags and low volume sales, have hindered its demand.

Factors driving huge growth are:

Companies ranging from hygiene to filtration have gradually come to understand its potential.

Moreover, a lot of investment in the research and development of these fibers are being undertaken by large number of companies and institutions.

Growth of the global nanofibers market

Nanofibers - Statistics

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2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Patent Issued - Nanof iber Production and Application

Year

Num

ber

of p

aten

ts is

sued

Global Overview: Growing pace of research and product development of nanofibers, has led to increase in number of its patented technology

According to FibeRio Technology Corporation - a company focusing on nanofibers research, close to 350 patents has been issued till 2009 for the production and development of nanofibers, globally.

Number of patents issued for nanofibers production and development has increased at a CAGR of 31% during 2001-2009.

Realisation of the potential of its mechanical strength, high surface area and high porosity, has led to companies conducting breakthrough research in this domain.

Moreover, improvements in technological sphere, machinery performance and advent of different methods to produce nanofibers apart from electrospinning has further led to rising number of patent application.

For example, Elmarco, came up with its Nanospider technology which has made been a path-breaker in the nanofibers spinning equipment space.

Research is being undertaken by companies from a wide array of industry verticals as these nanofibers have properties which can help in air and water filtration, environmental protection, food and packaging etc.

Factors behind rising number of patent application in nanofibers market

Nanofibers Patents- Statistics

Source: FibeRio Technology Corporation

Number of patents issued for Nanofibers production and application (2001-2009)

Synthesis: Currently, the only commercially viable method of producing nanofibers is electrospinning, while breakthroughs are on their way

Electrospinning uses a simple method wherein polymer solution is initially passed through from the tip of capillary to a collector, using electrical field. Post that a supply of high voltage current, forces a fine jet of polymer, which settles down on the collector screen. These are left to dry and eventually forms nanofibers.

The polymers that are frequently used the process are : polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyramide, polyacrylonitrile, nylon-6 and nylon-66 etc.

In addition, the solvents in which the polymers are dissolved and the solution created varies from water, formic acid, dimethyl formaldehyde, phenol etc.

As a part of breakthrough technology, FibeRio recently developed Forcespinning technology which claims to be more efficient than others in creating nanofibers.

Source: Donaldson Co. Inc.

Electrospinning setup for producing nanofibers

Application: The largest beneficiary of development of nanofibers has been the air and water filtration fraternity

High surface area that these nanofibers possess, makes them ideally suited for various filtration applications.

In comparison to microfibers, the surface area to volume ratio is up to 1,000 higher in nanofibers because of its minute diameter. This property tend to make them far more efficient than microfibers in filtration space.

Moreover, smaller pore sizes, high porosity, hydrophobicity and slip slow effect helps in distilling submicron particles from air and water.

Companies are undertaking nanofibers research for advancements in the filtration industry. For eg: Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V) offers advanced nanofibers technology, Nanoweb for air and liquid filtration.

This technology has been tested to provide high performance against soot and submicron efficiency.

Moreover, nanofibers technology is currently being used into commercial filters in liquid, air and automotive applications.

Properties of nanofibers that make them perfect for application in filtration industry

Source: Donaldson Co. Inc. and e-spin Technologies

Comparison of fiber size and surface area of different fibers

Fiber Type (on the basis of different methods used for

manufacturing

Fiber Size, in micrometer

Fiber surface area per mass of fiber material m^2/g

Nanofibers 800.05-0.25

Spunbound Fiber

0.2

Melt blown fiber 22

20

Applications: Range of other sectors where nanofibers technology is making a difference are :

Healthcare and pharmaceuticals – wound dressing, artificial organic components etc. Protective materials – noise control devices, military or warfare clothing Aerospace and aviation, Food & Beverages (F&B) etc.

Application: Textiles and Energy are other sectors that are experiencing greater efficiencies post nanofibers applications

Mechanical properties of nanofibers, wherein strength/weight ratio overshoot considerably post diameter decline, play a significant role in reducing the probability of fiber failure, thereby making it suitable for usage in textile sector.

Moreover, better insulation properties are provided by nano scale pores that these fibers possess.

For the purpose of providing better protection and enhanced life to the fabric, experts are using nanofibers in the manufacture of military clothing.

Nanofibers are coming in handy for the energy sector too as these can be used to increase the surface area of certain absorbents and catalytic materials.

Batteries and photovoltaics (PV) are the largest consumer of nanofibers under this sector.

In addition, nanofibers are being applied to battery separators in a need to achieve better battery life and performance. (Battery separator is a porous sheet placed between positive and negative electrode in a liquid electrolyte, a gel electrolyte, or a molten salt battery.

Characteristics of nanofibers that are impacting energy and textile industries

Source: EDANA & International Nonwovens Symposium.

Nanofibers application in Solar Cells / Photovoltaic technologies

DSSC (Dye-Synthesized solar cells) are the ones which have been constructed using nanofibers.

Experiments have shown that nanofibers provide a linear path for electron transfer and comparatively offer more stable output.

As per the graph above, at very low levels of illumination, DSSC tends to garner higher light energy than silicon based cells and moreover, these are less expensive.

A trend is being observed wherein companies involved both in the production and development of nanofibers are on a rise

Growth of Czech Republic-based Elmarco and Texas - based FibeRio Technology Corp.

The most popular technological improvement of Elmarco has been its Nanospider Equipment, which enables production of both inorganic and organic fibers and that too on an industrial scale.

Moreover, this equipment caters to laboratories which are undertaking development processes and are also used for large and moderate nanofibers volume production

Its technology is being created for being applied to air and water filtration domain, healthcare, automotive, energy and building domain.

In addition, Elmarco is efficiently developing partnerships both with the academic institutions as well as private players, in order to expand its technology into new nonwovens businesses.

Once all of its technological innovations and research are brought to commercialization, Elmarco would be playing a crucial role in industrial economy.

FibeRio has come up with a different technology to build nanofibers, known as Forcespinning. The company claims that this technological leap will increase the production output of nanofibers and moreover at only a fraction of the cost incurred earlier.

In addition, the company has launched Cyclone FE series equipment that uses its patented forcespinning technology with ‘Melt and Solution Processing’, wherein the scope of material that can be processed into nanofibers have been widened.

Cyclone FE series can use polybutylene terepthalate, polypropylene, nylon-6, bio-compatible polymers, fluoropolymers as well as ceramics for nanofobers production of <500nm.

FibeRio is trying to capture significant market share with growing awareness among organizations that nanofibers can better the performance of products ranging from textile, cosmetics, filtration and energy.

Companies like H&V and DuPont are undertaking in-house nanofibers research to make their businesses more efficient

Hollingsworth & Vose and DuPont – Big names in the nanofibers space

Hollingsworth & Vose, has been undertaking research in the nanofibers space for a long time now. It has a number of nanotechnology equipments that are commercially available.

The company puts its technology to use in its own filtration processes and also makes them available for outside businesses.

Its advanced nanofibers technology known as NanoWeb for air and liquid filtration offers submicron efficiency and better performance against soot.

The nanofibers produced by this technology ranges between 0.3-0.5 microns, have 5 times longer life and claim precise pore uniformity.

The company believes that with high dust-holding capacity and low pressure drop, this technology can fit in a better way into HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) applications.

DuPont has been another big name and one of the oldest companies that has been involved in nanofibers research and implementation.

In November’09, DuPont was issued a patent for Electroblowing process for producing nanofibers. This process combines the method of electrospinning and hot air blowing.

The commercial product that has been developed using this technology is known as DuPontEnergain.

Primary application – Energy sector – Battery Separators – and claims to increase stability and battery life by 20%. Secondary applications – filtration, pharmaceuticals, F&B.

Another important companies in nanofibers research domain are: Donaldson Co. Inc.and Ahlstrom

Thank You