Environmental Market for UV-vis

UV–vis spectroscopy, which includes photometers and turbidimeters, provides a simple method for addressing a wide range of basic water analysis parameters that are crucial to environmental analysis. The environmental market for UV and visible spectroscopy techniques accounts for close to 30% of the entire laboratory and portable UV–vis spectroscopy market.

UV–vis environmental demand for 2011

There are a wide range of nutrients, minerals, chemicals, and other compounds in water samples that can be measured using simple UV–vis spectroscopic methods. Common compounds measured using UV–vis techniques include free and total chlorine, nitrates and nitrites, turbidity, phosphates, sulfates, and many more. There are more than a dozen common EPA-approved testing methods for water analysis that are based upon UV–vis techniques, as well as many dozens more that are not currently approved.

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There are three general groups of UV–vis instruments commonly used in environmental water analysis applications. The largest segment is photometers, which are often referred to as colorimeters but should not be confused with color analysis instrumentation. Photometers are filter-based instruments that use only one or a handful of selected wavelengths for analysis of a limited number of parameters or compounds. Turbidimeters are the simplest of the three instruments and measure the amount of suspended particles by analyzing the amount of visible light reflected. Conventional UV–vis spectrophotometers are more advanced instruments that measure a portion of the visible and UV spectrum.The global market for benchtop and portable UV–vis instruments for environmental applications is expected to be just over $200 million in 2011. Close to half of the market is accounted for by reagents. The market tends to be more consistent than other industrial markets and is still likely to see minimally positive growth in 2011.

The foregoing data were based on SDi’s market analysis and perspectives report entitled Global Assessment Report, 11th Edition: The Laboratory Life Science and Analytical Instrument Industry, October 2010. For more information, contact Stuart Press, Vice President – Strategic Analysis, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (310) 641-4982, fax: (310) 641-8851, http://www.strategic-directions.com/apps/www.strategic-directions.com.