Market Profile: ICP-MS for Water Applications

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, or ICP-MS, is one of the most sensitive atomic spectroscopy techniques now on the market. There is considerable demand for ICP-MS in a diverse range of water analysis applications, which is driven both by governmental regulations and industrial processing needs.

ICP-MS utilizes a plasma torch to ionize the sample, which is then drawn into the mass spectrometer for detection. By using a mass spectrometer-based detector instead of a photo multiplier tube (PMT) or solid-state detector, an ICP-MS is able to achieve significantly better levels of sensitivity and resolution for many compounds of interest when compared to ICP or atomic absorption (AA).

Demand for ICP-MS from water applications was well over $60 million in 2006, which accounts for more than a quarter of the entire ICP-MS market and represents about 4% of the combined laboratory and process water analysis instrumentation market. The two largest areas of application in the water market for ICP-MS are industrial process water and potable water, which account for roughly 70% of this market segment combined. Tighter regulations, such as for arsenic in drinking water, and the increasing need for sensitivity to water contaminants in industries such as semiconductors, are two prime examples of areas in which the improved performance of ICP-MS is needed. Annual growth of the market for ICP-MS in water analysis should be similar to that of ICP-MS in general, at 7% to 8%.

The foregoing data were extracted from SDi's market analysis and perspectives report entitled The Water Testing & Analysis Market: Lab & Process — Wastewater to Ultrapure Water, January 2007. For more information, contact Stuart Press, Senior Consultant, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (310) 641-4982, fax: (310) 641-8851, www.strategic-directions.com.