According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, levulinic acid and its salts are extensively utilized in cosmetic and personal care products because they are water-soluble.
Precursors for medicines, plasticizers, and a variety of other additives include levulinic acid. Levulinic acid is most commonly used to create aminolevulinic acid, a biodegradable herbicide used in South Asia. The usage of levulinic acid in cosmetics is another significant use. Levulinic acid's major derivative, ethyl levulinate, is widely utilized in perfumes and fragrances.
Levulinic acid may be made using a variety of techniques. Levulinic acid was formerly produced using expensive methods with a relatively low yield. Levulinic acid may now be produced using biomass thanks to the development of the Biofine manufacturing method, and the yield it produces is also substantially higher than that of conventional processes.
Moreover, levulinic acid manufacturing is supported by government initiatives as a result of growing environmental concerns and efficient economic growth.These regulations frequently represent the nation's goals and comparative advantage initiatives. By encouraging public procurement, employment creation, and the move from the linear to the circular economy, it seeks to advance the bioeconomy.
Thus, the increasing consumption of such chemicals in water treatment plants, on account of the surging demand for clean water, will help the flocculants and coagulants market advance at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period (2018–2023). The market revenue stood at $10,270.2 million in 2017, and it is projected to reach $14,225.3 million by 2023. The mounting demand for clean water can be ascribed to the growing global population and toughening government laws on the supply of treated water.
In the last few years, flocculants were consumed in higher quantities than coagulants because is it easier to separate or filter solid particles from contaminated liquids via flocculation than coagulation. In the flocculation process, the solution is delicately mixed to collect the clumps created during the coagulation process and form larger clumps, which are easy to filter when they settle down. Anionic, cationic, and non-ionic flocculants and organic and inorganic coagulants are used for water treatment.
The application segment of the flocculants and coagulants market is classified into mineral and extraction, oil and gas, pulp and paper, water and wastewater treatment, and others, such as medical and agriculture. Under this segment, the water and wastewater treatment category accounted for the largest share in 2017, and it is also expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the high-volume consumption of these chemicals in municipal water treatment plants owing to the toughening government regulations mandating the supply of clean water.
In contemporary times, BASF SE, SUEZ, National Aluminium Company Limited, Kemira Oyj, Evonik Industries AG, Akzo Nobel N.V., Kurita Water Industries Ltd., Ecolab Inc., Chinafloc, SNF s.a.s., Feralco AB, and Solvay SA have emerged as the largest producers of flocculants and coagulants. In the coming years, they will increase their operations in Thailand, China, Indonesia, and India due to the soaring number of power plant and housing projects, booming manufacturing industry, and increasing construction activities in these countries.
In the coming years, the largest quantity of such lubricants will be used in the coal mining sector due to the rising need for mining equipment in this industry and burgeoning demand for coal for power generation in emerging economies, such as India, China, and Indonesia. For instance, the Ministry of Power under the Government of India states that coal consumption in thermal power plants of the country increased from 690.246 million tons in FY 2017–2018 to 707.387 million tons in FY 2019–2020.
In contemporary times, the mining industry uses lubricants produced by Schaeffer Manufacturing Co., Blue Star Lubrication Technology LLC, BP PLC, D-A Lubricant Company Inc., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Busler Enterprises Inc., Chevron Corporation, Total S.A., and Exxon Mobil Corporation for mining and quarry applications. Presently, companies, such as Chevron Corporation, BP PLC, and Exxon Mobil Corporation, are focusing on imparting knowledge about brands among consumers through print and visual media, to reach out to a greater number of end users.
Globally, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region dominates the lubricants market for mining and quarry applications, wherein China consumes the highest volume of such lubricants. Furthermore, the European region is led by Russia, whereas, North America is dominated by the U.S. Additionally, in the Middle East and African (MEA) region, Saudi Arabia uses the maximum quantity of lubricants for mining and quarry applications due to the presence of numerous oil fields in the country.
Thus, the increasing mining activities in developing countries and liberalization of mining policies will result in the large-scale consumption of lubricants for mining and quarry applications in the forthcoming years.

Moreover, significant technological advancements in the agronomical sector are resulting in increased consumption of agricultural lubricants. Numerous innovative approaches and strategies, such as the usage of inorganic compost have enhanced yield production, with increased efficiency, and a decline in operational cost. Therefore, modern machinery and technology are utilized on the farm for reducing operational time, and effort, and increase production.
Government agencies have introduced a number of farmer subsidy schemes in emerging countries such as Mexico, India, and others, for helping farmers in buying harvesters, tractors, power sprayers, threshers, paddy transplanters, and other equipment. More sophisticated machinery is utilized by farmers which results in rising agricultural machine lubricating product demand.
Commercialization of graphene has increased in past years, credited to several factors like, R&D for its new applications and growing availability of graphene across the globe. Moreover, many graphene forms, such as graphene sheets and graphene flakes, have also started to be used in digital displays, sports goods, conductive inks, and automotive coatings, among others, initially graphene was used for lab testing only.
Graphene is majorly used in electronics and electrical industry, credited to the usage of this in transistors, microchips and print circuits. Due to its favourable qualities, like high strength and electrical conductivity. Because of its increasing usage in flexible devices the demand for graphene is surging. This is because of the special properties of graphene that allow the devices to be folded or rolled as per needed and exceptional chartersticks provided by graphene-based electronic devices.
The increasing adoption graphene for applications in composite materials for electrical & electronic devices, and automotive vehicles & lightweight aircraft, and also the commercialization of graphene are the major drivers of this industry, and such factors also shows the growing future. 