Microbial Biosurfactants Market

Global Microbial Biosurfactants Market: Snapshot

There has been an increasing awareness about the use of the biobased products for cleaning purpose which has resulted in propelling the growth of the global market for microbial biosurfactants. Favorable rules and regulatory outlook in the established economies has further strengthened the growth prospects of the global microbial bio surfactants market. However, there is a high cost associated with the microbial biosurfactants when compared to those derived from plants and synthetically manufactured surfactants. This is expected to act as an impeding factor in the development of the global market. On the flip side, the global market for microbial biosurfactants has a big opportunity to expand due the rising demand from the environmental segment for these microbial biosurfactants.

The global market for microbial biosurfactants is expected to show a healthy CAGR of 4% over the course of the given forecast period of 2014 to 2020. The overall market valuation of microbial biosurfactants market is estimated to reach a worth of US$17.1 mn by the end of the forecast period.

Household Detergents Emerge as Leading Application Segment Owing to Increasing Need for Viable Cleaning Products

Sophorolipids has emerged as the biggest microbial biosurfactants segment in the recent past with accounting for over 50% of the total market share during the time. These surfactants are most preferred for marketing and commercialization purpose because of its high production yields. It is anticipated that this segment will be the fastest growing product segment over the course of forecast period. Following sophorolipids are the rhamnolipids which are the second most consumed microbial surfactants across the globe. These surfactants are primarily used in the biopesticides, enhanced oil recovery, and bioremediation. Other microbial biosurfactants have constituted for a lesser share in the global market and this trend is expected to continue over the course of the forecast period.

These microbial biosurfactants form a vital component of detergents, as their efficacy is high even with smaller concentrations when compared to synthetic detergents. The application segment of personal care is projected be one of the most promising segment in the coming years. Microbial biosurfactants have high properties of moisturizing than that possessed by synthetic surfactants. Chemicals in the synthetic surfactants may also cause harm to the skin. Microbial biosurfactants find their application in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which is utilized for optimizing the recovery of petroleum and oil products from oil wells. These microbial biosurfactants are less hazardous to the environment and barely requires thermal energy. They are utilized in smaller concentrations for the process of recovery in comparison with synthetic surfactants. Household detergents have emerged as a leading application segment in the global microbial biosurfactants market. Increasing demand for viable products in cleaning and detergents products is expected to spur the market. Customers are now shifting from chemical based synthetic products to bio-based products because of rising awareness about environmental concerns. With respect to demand, the global market for microbial biosurfactants for the segment of household detergents is expected to show a healthy CAGR of 6.1% over the course of 2014 to 2020.

Europe to Continue its Dominance in Market Owing to Strict Government Policies

The global microbial biosurfactants market has been dominated by Europe in the last few years. Europe has shown high consumption of microbial biosurfactants because of the strict regulations imposed by the local governments on the use of bio-based materials. It is projected that Europe will remain as the fastest growing regional market during the course of forecast period. This progress is followed by North America which is estimated to reach an overall valuation of US$4.3 mn by the end of 2020. The growth of Asia Pacific is projected to be at a considerable rate because of the rising awareness among people about the benefits of using bio-based products.

Some of the key players in the market include names such as Ecover, MG Intobio, Saraya, Jeneil Biotech, and AGAE Technologies among others.