Water treatment chemicals, due to their high frequency of use and relatively large quantities, require timely and accurate delivery based on demand to ensure wastewater treatment meets regulatory standards. Although wastewater treatment operators typically maintain backup inventories, precise delivery remains crucial to prevent unforeseen emergencies. Chemical manufacturers generally establish multiple production bases and comprehensive logistics and service networks based on raw material availability and market demand to ensure prompt response to requirements.
According to E20 Research Institute’s “Municipal Wastewater Treatment Chemicals Market Analysis Report,” China’s urban (cities and county towns, excluding administrative towns) wastewater treatment capacity steadily increased from 2010 to 2018, reaching 5,670,934 million cubic meters in 2018. The top three provinces by treatment volume were Guangdong, Shandong, and Jiangsu, where multiple chemical manufacturers have established operations. Additionally, influent concentration—specifically influent COD levels—directly impacts chemical dosage requirements. When influent COD exceeds or falls below the optimal treatment threshold for a plant, it creates additional demand for wastewater treatment chemicals.
For micro-level planning of chemical distribution networks, detailed statistics on wastewater generation points across provinces and cities are essential. The aforementioned report provides macro-level statistics on wastewater generation in key prefecture-level cities across China’s 31 provinces.
Taking Guangdong Province as an example, the market for wastewater treatment chemicals in its prefecture-level cities is highly concentrated, primarily in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan. The treatment capacities of wastewater treatment plants in these three cities reached 1,648.22 million cubic meters, 1,614.03 million cubic meters, and 991.91 million cubic meters respectively (equivalent to the urban wastewater treatment volume of some provincial-level regions). These three cities account for 55% of the total wastewater treatment volume among prefecture-level cities in Guangdong Province, while treatment volumes in other cities are largely comparable.