Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast Segmented By Business Type (System and Service), By Pollutant Control System (Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) and DeNOx Systems), By End-User (Power, Chemical and Petrochemical), By Region, By Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 54.99 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	5.91%
Fastest Growing Segment	Service
Largest Market	Asia Pacific
Market Size (2031)	USD 77.61 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market will grow from USD 54.99 Billion in 2025 to USD 77.61 Billion by 2031 at a 5.91% CAGR. Flue gas treatment systems encompass a range of technologies and equipment designed to remove hazardous pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and mercury, from the exhaust streams of industrial processes and power generation facilities. The primary driver of this market is the rigorous enforcement of environmental regulations by governments worldwide, which mandates significant reductions in toxic emissions to align with air quality standards. Furthermore, the continued expansion of heavy industry and thermal power generation in developing economies necessitates the widespread adoption of these abatement technologies. According to the World Steel Association, in 2024, global crude steel production reached approximately 1,886 million tonnes, creating a substantial and continuous demand for effective industrial emission control solutions to manage the resulting exhaust output.

Despite the robust demand, the market faces a significant challenge regarding the high capital expenditure and operational costs associated with installing and maintaining these complex filtration and scrubbing units. Small and medium-sized industrial operators often find the initial investment prohibitive, which can delay compliance and impede the adoption of advanced treatment systems in cost-sensitive regions. This financial barrier forces many facilities to extend the lifespan of older, less efficient equipment rather than upgrading to modern, high-performance technologies.

Key Market Drivers

Implementation of stringent environmental regulations and emission standards serves as the primary catalyst for the adoption of flue gas treatment systems. Governments are increasingly enforcing lower limits on particulate matter and hazardous gases, compelling industrial facilities to upgrade their filtration technologies to avoid penalties and maintain operational licenses. This regulatory pressure is particularly acute in developed regions where health standards are continually tightening to protect public welfare. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, February 2024, in the 'Final Rule to Strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter', the primary annual PM2.5 standard was lowered from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter to 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter. Such revisions necessitate the installation of advanced electrostatic precipitators and fabric filters, directly driving market revenue for abatement technology providers.

Concurrently, the increasing global demand for thermal power generation sustains the critical need for desulfurization and denitrification systems, especially in developing nations prioritizing energy security. Despite the global transition toward renewables, coal and gas-fired plants remain essential for meeting baseload power requirements, requiring extensive emission control infrastructure to mitigate their environmental footprint. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2024, global electricity demand is forecast to grow by around 4%, creating a persistent requirement for reliable energy sources. To meet this rising consumption, new fossil fuel capacity continues to come online, ensuring a steady stream of projects for treatment system manufacturers. According to Global Energy Monitor, April 2024, in the 'Boom and Bust Coal 2024' report, the global coal fleet grew by 2% in 2023, with 69.5 GW of new capacity commissioned.

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Key Market Challenges

The substantial capital expenditure and significant operational costs associated with installing and maintaining advanced filtration units constitute a primary impediment to the growth of the flue gas treatment systems market. Industrial facilities must absorb heavy upfront costs for complex scrubbing infrastructure, in addition to the continuous expenses required for energy consumption, chemical reagents, and specialized labor. This financial burden often proves prohibitive for small and medium-sized operators who lack the liquidity to fund such extensive modernization projects. Consequently, many cost-sensitive facilities choose to prolong the use of legacy equipment rather than upgrading to higher-performance technologies, which directly reduces the adoption rate of new systems.

This challenge is further exacerbated when key end-user industries experience economic instability or oversupply, which restricts their capital budgets for environmental compliance projects. When profitability declines, manufacturers typically delay non-core investments. According to the World Cement Association, in 2024, the global cement sector faced a capacity surplus that was projected to reach nearly 1 billion tons. This massive excess capacity creates intense pressure on profit margins for a major industrial consumer base, severely limiting their financial capability to invest in expensive flue gas abatement solutions and hampering overall market momentum.

Key Market Trends

The integration of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies is rapidly transforming the flue gas treatment landscape as industrial operators move beyond traditional pollutant control to address decarbonization mandates. This trend is characterized by the coupling of advanced filtration systems with carbon capture units to intercept CO2 emissions from hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, and power generation. Rather than solely removing sulfur or nitrogen oxides, modern treatment architectures are being redesigned to facilitate solvent-based or solid-sorbent capture processes, effectively turning exhaust streams into managed carbon resources. The momentum behind this shift is quantifiable; according to the Global CCS Institute, October 2024, in the 'Global Status of CCS 2024' report, the global pipeline of carbon capture projects expanded to a cumulative capture capacity of 416 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), reflecting a 32% compound annual growth rate over the last seven years.

Simultaneously, the market is experiencing a distinct trend toward retrofitting aging infrastructure with hybrid treatment technologies to extend asset operational life while meeting tighter emission limits. Faced with the prohibitive costs and regulatory hurdles of constructing new facilities, utilities and industrial plant owners are investing in comprehensive modernization projects that upgrade legacy combustion and filtration hardware. These retrofits often involve replacing outdated firing systems with low-NOx burners and installing advanced recirculation components to optimize flue gas composition for downstream treatment. This retrofitting activity is generating substantial commercial value; according to Babcock & Wilcox, March 2024, in the press release 'Babcock & Wilcox Signs Agreement for Power Plant Fuel-Switching Project Valued at Approximately $246 Million', the company secured a contract worth approximately $246 million to retrofit a 1,000-megawatt power plant with updated emission control and combustion systems, including new burners and fans.

Segmental Insights

The Service segment represents the fastest-growing category in the Global Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market, driven by the critical requirement to maintain compliance with evolving environmental standards. As regulatory bodies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforce stricter emission limits, industrial facilities increasingly rely on specialized maintenance, retrofitting, and modernization of existing infrastructure to avoid penalties. Consequently, operators are prioritizing lifecycle management and operational efficiency over new equipment installation. This shift toward sustaining aging infrastructure ensures sustained demand for after-sales support, cementing the Service segment’s rapid expansion.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific commands the leading position in the Global Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market, sustained by rapid industrial expansion and a continued dependence on coal-based energy. The region's high density of thermal power plants and heavy manufacturing facilities creates a substantial requirement for emission control technologies. This market dominance is reinforced by rigorous regulatory frameworks, with institutions like China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment and India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change mandating strict pollutant limits. Consequently, industries are heavily investing in treatment systems to align with these statutory environmental compliance standards.

Recent Developments

• In July 2025, Valmet secured an order to supply a biomass boiler and a complete flue gas cleaning system for a paper manufacturing facility in Zaragoza, Spain. The delivery included a bubbling fluidized bed boiler capable of producing steam while utilizing biomass fuel to reduce fossil fuel consumption. The scope of the project also featured a flue gas cleaning system equipped with a baghouse filter to ensure compliance with stringent environmental standards. The plant upgrade was part of the customer's decarbonization plan and was supported by a strategic economic recovery grant from the Spanish government.
• In September 2024, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced the successful deployment of its proprietary carbon capture technology at a natural gas treatment plant near Ravenna, Italy. This facility became Europe's first fully operational post-combustion carbon capture plant dedicated to environmental protection. The project utilized the company's KM CDR Process to separate and capture carbon dioxide directly from the flue gas emitted by a natural gas turbine. The captured emissions were subsequently injected into a depleted offshore gas field for permanent storage. This achievement highlighted the effectiveness of the company's solution in treating low-concentration flue gas streams.
• In July 2024, Andritz received an order to completely renew the flue gas cleaning system at a waste incineration plant in Hamm, Germany. This modernization project aimed to ensure the facility's emissions remained well below new legal limits, thereby securing the site's future operations. The company developed a customized concept to replace four existing cleaning lines with advanced technology based on a circulating fluidized bed and catalytic denitrification process. The three-stage system was designed to allow nearly uninterrupted operation of the plant during the rebuild, with the final line scheduled for completion in 2028.
• In February 2024, Babcock & Wilcox announced that its Canadian subsidiary had secured a contract valued at over $13 million to supply equipment and engineering services for a North American petroleum refinery. The project focused on helping the facility comply with strict environmental regulations by significantly reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. The company agreed to design a flue gas recirculation system and provide eighteen high-efficiency, low-NOx burners for three units at the plant. Additionally, the scope included performance engineering services and the supply of fans and other essential equipment to support the refinery's transition to cleaner industrial processes.

Key Market Players

• Clyde Bergemann Power Group
• Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems
• Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc.
• Clyde Bergemann Power Group
• STT Environ Corp
• Andritz AG
• Marsulex Environmental Technologies
• Bilfinger Engineering & Technologies Gmbh
• Chiyoda Corporation
• Ducon Technologies
• Fuel Tech Inc.

By Business Type	By Pollutant Control System	By End-User	By Region
System and Service	Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) and DeNOx Systems	Power Chemical and Petrochemical	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market, By Business Type:

• System and Service

• Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market, By Pollutant Control System:

• Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) and DeNOx Systems

• Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market, By End-User:

• Power
• Chemical and Petrochemical

• Flue Gas Treatment Systems Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE