The France Chemical Industry is one of the key components of the French economy. The industry recorded a revenue of approximately USD 22 Billion in 2018. Roughly 8% of the revenue generated from the manufacturing companies is procured from chemical-based units. The chemical industry within France ranks as the third biggest market within this economy.
According to the market database, the aeronautics sector is one of the major end-users of the France chemical industry. It accounts for more than 13% of the chemical manufacturing and contributes to a trade surplus of roughly USD 12 Billion for the French chemical industry. The chemical industry in France has 3,300 companies, about 94% are SMEs, and nearly 6,000 production sites. According to the chemical market research report, the sector employs roughly 166,650 people. This value accounts for 6.7% of the French manufacturing workers. The industry generates around 830,000 indirect and induced jobs. According to the European France Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), international sales of this industry escalated by a value of 75% in the year 2018. The value translates to export sales of USD 71 Billion. The R&D expenses incurred in the year 2018 are estimated to be 2.5 Billion.
Flue gas and its components
Flue gas is the gas that enters the atmosphere through the exit stream of a process. They are gases dispersed by the flue. It could be exhaust gases released from a fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler, or steam generator. It is referred to as residual gases obtained from the process of combustion. The components of the gas are dependent on the material that is being burnt. According to the market database, the material can go through either complete or incomplete combustion depending on the level of oxygen. Reactions in which restricted amounts of oxygen are used lead to incomplete combustion. This process results in the formation of toxic gases inclusive of carbon monoxide.
Conventionally, flue gas includes nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, and oxides of carbon. Nitrogen, as well as Sulphur, are considered to be toxic byproducts of a process. These gases also consist of pollutants like Suspended Particle Matter (SPM) that comprises dispersed solid or liquid state microscopic particles.
Due to safety regulations imposed on the production unit, manufacturing companies need to treat the effluent gases before being released into the atmosphere. According to safety standards, it is essential to control the number of toxins released into the surrounding air. Owing to the increased urbanization, people living in close vicinity to the plant might come in direct contact with these gases that could pose several health hazards.
In-plant pollution control systems are employed to keep a regressive check on the gases emitted through the process. Additionally, the increasing demand for flue gas treatment from manufacturing units that focus on metal forging, steam reforming, and pharmaceuticals acts as a driver for this market. These processes liberate gases that are oxides of harmful compounds like Sulphur and carbon monoxide.
Flue gas treatment is majorly a post-combustion process. These systems filter toxins and reduce NOx (x can represent the number according to the ratio of oxygen molecules present) to molecular nitrogen or nitrates. The selective and non-selective catalytic reductions can be used for this process.
Moreover, ongoing movements that encourage environmental aggradation acts as a key driver for france chemical indsutry. According to the market database, people are becoming increasingly aware of the climate change-induced activities conducted by a man that hereby propels the growth of the market. One key restraint is the price associated with the process equipment.
Key companies
Veolia is a French transnation company. It specializes in the service and utility areas that are traditionally catered to by public authorities. The main branches include water management, wastewater management, and energy services.
Veolia is currently focusing on modernizing the flue gas treatment plant situated in Bayet. The agenda is to optimize the Bayet incineration plant to reduce effluent emissions. According to the market database, the company plans on switching the current facility in Bayet to a dry processing unit in terms of flue gas treatment. Bayet manages around 55,000 tons of household waste annually and is the only plant to process hospital waste in the Allier area. Updating of downstream equipment and the introduction of flue-gas energy recovery to preheat feed water are a few of the design agendas Veolia plans to abide by.
