Vapor Recovery Unit Market Analysis

Vapor Recovery Units Industry Insights

Technology Insights

The adsorption technology contributes the highest revenue to the market in 2024, and it is expected to maintain its position in the forecast period. This is because adsorption-based VRUs are widely used for the recovery or removal of sulfur from crude oil, along with preventing the dangerous VOCs from being discharged into the environment during evaporative hydrocarbon transfer activities.

The membrane separation technology will account for the fastest growth in the vapor recovery units market, with a CAGR of over 5%, during the forecast period. This can be ascribed to the cost-effectiveness of installing and using membrane separators in VRUs. Moreover, membrane-separation-based VRUs have a better recovery rate and offer a massive reduction in the cost of maintenance.

The below-mentioned technologies have been analyzed:

• Condensation
• Adsorption (Largest Category)
• Absorption
• Membrane Separation (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Others

Application Insights

The storage category held the largest vapor recovery units market revenue share in 2021. This is because vapor recovery systems for storage tanks can be used to recollect vent gases from crude petroleum and distillation tanks at storage sites. In this regard, the growing number of crude oil storage tanks around the world has increased the demand for VRUs. For instance, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are over 500,000 crude oil storage tanks in the U.S.

The transportation category is expected to observe the highest CAGR during the forecast period, of 5.9%. This will be due to the growing demand for petroleum, petrochemical products, and other commodities, as well as the widespread use of recovery units in automobiles to reduce VOC emissions. In this regard, the rigorous government rules limiting VOC emissions will boost the industry growth.

The report offers insights for the following applications:

• Storage (Largest Category)
• Processing
• Transportation (Fastest-Growing Category)

End User Insights

The oil & gas industry accounts for the largest revenue share, of approximately 40%, in 2024, and it is expected to maintain the trend over the forecast period. This can be ascribed to the expanding oil and gas utilization, increasing number of refineries, and rapidly changing environmental laws. Additionally, the rising demand for downstream processes and emission control systems across the industry fuels the market expansion.

The brewery & food processing industry is the fastest-growing category, with a CAGR of 6.0% over this decade. Like other industries, the regulations related to emission of vapors from beers, spirits, and other food products are becoming increasingly stringent. This has prompted companies in these industries to install vapor recovery units in their facilities.

We have studied the following end users:

• Oil & Gas Industry (Largest Category)
• Landfills
• Brewery & Food Processing Industry (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Chemical Industry
• Others

Process Insights

The upstream process generated the majority of the revenue in the market in 2024, holding a share of 65%. This huge revenue is mainly generated from upstream oil & gas processes, including exploration and production activities. Thus, the increase in the number of upstream projects in North America and the Middle East drives the demand for VRUs. As a result, the high usage of these vapor recovery units in the upstream category will boost the vapor recovery units market advance.

The downstream category will witness the higher CAGR, of 5.8%, over the forecast period. This is attributed to the stringent VOC emission and fire safety regulations imposed on downstream oil & gas companies, petrochemical refineries, and chemical warehouses.

The segment is bifurcated as follows:

• Upstream (Larger Category)
• Downstream (Faster-Growing Category)