Super absorbent polymer market to grow 7.6% p.a. up to 2020

The global super absorbent polymer (SAP) market is projected to reach US$ 7.96 billion by 2020, growing annually by 7.6% during the period 2015 and 2020, according to MarketsandMarkets.

Growing technological advancement worldwide has been attributed as one of the main reasons for the growth of the SAP market. In terms of region, Asia-Pacific accounts for nearly more than half of the global SAP market owing to the rising investments by foreign companies, growing production facilities, and improvement  in living standards of people.

Personal care is the major application for the SAP market as SAPs are primarily used as absorbents for water and aqueous solutions in diapers, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene products, and similar applications. The market for diaper is the largest end application for super absorbent polymer and hence driving the demand of the polymer in the recent years.

The agricultural industry is the biggest market for SAP as it is utilized in water conservation technique in agriculture and is widely used around the world. Rising population and increased demand for food in developing nations are the key factors driving the demand for the SAP market in agriculture application. The important application areas of agricultural SAP can broadly be categorized into gardening, horticulture, forestry, lawns, play grounds, and golf-course.