• In January 2023, Nouryon bolstered its agricultural portfolio by acquiring ADOB, a renowned Polish specialist in chelated micronutrients and plant nutrients. This strategic addition enhances their foothold in the global specialty agriculture sector. The deal cements Nouryon's leadership in advanced nutrient solutions.

• In August 2022, Balchem Corporation expanded its human nutrition footprint by acquiring Bergstrom Nutrition (Cardinal Associates Inc.). Integrated into Balchem’s Minerals & Nutrients division, the move strengthens their chelated mineral supplement offerings. This acquisition enhances Balchem’s in-house expertise in health-focused chelates.

In this report, the Chelating Agents Market has been segmented by Type, Form, Application, Distribution Channel, and Geography.

Chelating Agents Market, Segmentation by Type

The Chelating Agents Market has been segmented by Type into Aminopolycarboxylates, Phosphates & Phosphonates and Other Chelating Agents.

Aminopolycarboxylates

Aminopolycarboxylates are the most widely used chelating agents due to their strong ability to bind metal ions in applications like detergents, water treatment, and industrial cleaning. Common variants include EDTA, DTPA, and NTA. This segment dominates the market with a share of approximately 62%.

Phosphates & Phosphonates

Phosphates and phosphonates are used for their excellent scale inhibition and metal ion sequestration properties, especially in boiler water treatment, detergents, and cosmetics. Although environmentally regulated in some regions, they still account for about 28% of the market.

Other Chelating Agents

This category includes emerging and biodegradable chelating agents such as gluconates, MGDA, and EDDS, which are increasingly adopted in eco-friendly formulations across agriculture and personal care. These alternatives hold approximately 10% of the market share.

Chelating Agents Market, Segmentation by Form

The Chelating Agents Market has been segmented by Form into Biodegradable And Non-Biodegradable.

Biodegradable

Biodegradable chelating agents are gaining traction due to growing demand for environmentally friendly solutions in sectors such as agriculture, personal care, and household cleaning. Compounds like GLDA, MGDA, and EDDS are preferred for their low toxicity and biodegradability. This segment currently accounts for approximately 32% of the global market.

Non-Biodegradable

Non-biodegradable chelating agents, such as EDTA and DTPA, continue to dominate the market due to their high efficacy and broad compatibility in applications like industrial cleaning, water treatment, and detergents. Despite environmental concerns, this segment holds about 68% of the market.

Chelating Agents Market, Segmentation by Application

The Chelating Agents Market has been segmented by Application into Pulp & Paper, Water Treatment, Cleaners, Agrochemicals, Personal Care, Pharmaceutical, Food & Beverage and Others.

Pulp & Paper

Chelating agents are extensively used in the pulp & paper industry for bleaching and metal ion control during pulp processing. They help improve brightness stability and protect pulp from oxidative damage. This segment leads the market with approximately 30% share.

Water Treatment

In water treatment, chelating agents are vital for removing hardness ions and preventing scale formation. They are commonly used in boiler feedwater systems, cooling towers, and municipal treatment plants. This segment holds around 22% of the market.

Cleaners

Chelating agents enhance the effectiveness of household and industrial cleaners by binding to metal ions and improving detergent performance. They are used in products such as laundry detergents, surface cleaners, and dishwashing liquids. This segment accounts for approximately 18% of global demand.

Agrochemicals

In agrochemicals, chelating agents are used to improve the bioavailability of micronutrients in fertilizers and soil amendments. They help in efficient nutrient delivery to plants, particularly in alkaline soils. This segment contributes about 9% to the market.

Personal Care

Chelating agents are used in personal care products to stabilize formulations by preventing metal ion reactions that cause product discoloration or degradation. Applications include shampoos, lotions, and cosmetics. This segment holds around 7% of the market.

Pharmaceutical

In the pharmaceutical industry, chelating agents are used in metal detoxification therapies and to enhance drug stability and bioavailability. They are essential in formulations involving metal-sensitive compounds. This segment contributes roughly 5% of the market.

Food & Beverage

Chelating agents help maintain flavor, color, and shelf life in food and beverage products by binding trace metals that promote oxidation. Common applications include preservatives and processing aids. This segment represents about 5% of global usage.

Others

The “Others” category includes applications in textiles, oil & gas, and photographic chemicals. These niche uses collectively account for approximately 4% of the market.

Chelating Agents Market, Segmentation by Distribution Channel

The Chelating Agents Market has been segmented by Distribution Channel into Direct Sales/B2B, Specialty Stores, Warehouses, E-Commerce, And Others.

Direct Sales/B2B

Direct sales or B2B channels dominate the chelating agents market, as bulk quantities are procured by industries like pulp & paper, water treatment, and cleaning chemicals. This model ensures cost efficiency and customized solutions for industrial clients. It accounts for approximately 56% of the global market.

Specialty Stores

Specialty stores cater to niche applications such as personal care, pharmaceuticals, and laboratory-grade chelating agents. They offer high-purity products with expert assistance, contributing about 12% of the market.

Warehouses

Warehouses play a key role in facilitating bulk storage and distribution logistics for both local and international suppliers. This channel supports industrial demand, particularly for non-biodegradable agents, and represents around 15% of the market.

E-Commerce

The rise of e-commerce platforms has enabled easier access to low-volume specialty chelating agents for R&D, DIY cleaners, and educational uses. Convenience and expanding supplier networks help this channel hold approximately 10% of the global share.

Others

The “Others” category includes third-party distributors, private labeling services, and local chemical suppliers. These channels serve regional or fragmented markets and account for roughly 7% of total distribution.

Chelating Agents Market, Segmentation by Geography

In this report, the Chelating Agents Market has been segmented by Geography into five regions; North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.

Chelating Agents Market Share (%), by Geographical Region

North America

North America is a major market for chelating agents, driven by strong demand from the water treatment, detergent manufacturing, and pharmaceutical sectors. The region also benefits from strict environmental regulations encouraging the adoption of biodegradable chelants. It accounts for approximately 24% of the global market.

Europe

Europe holds a significant market share due to its highly regulated chemical industry and growing use of eco-friendly formulations in personal care and household cleaning products. Countries such as Germany, France, and the UK drive this region's market, which comprises about 27% of the global share.

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific dominates the chelating agents market, driven by rapid industrialization, large-scale pulp & paper production, and increasing demand for agrochemicals and detergents. China and India are major contributors, helping the region capture approximately 34% of the market.

Middle East and Africa

The Middle East and Africa region shows growing demand for chelating agents in water treatment and industrial cleaning applications, especially in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This region holds a market share of around 7%.

Latin America

Latin America is witnessing steady growth in chelating agent use across agriculture, food processing, and water purification sectors. Brazil and Mexico are key markets, with the region accounting for approximately 8% of global demand.

This report provides an in depth analysis of various factors that impact the dynamics of Chelating Agents Market. These factors include; Market Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities Analysis.

Drivers, Restraints and Opportunity Analysis

Drivers

• Strict compliance with eco-standards
• Rising demand for wastewater solutions

• Growth of manufacturing and processing industries - The rapid growth of manufacturing and processing industries worldwide is a primary catalyst for the expanding chelating agents market. Industrial facilities—from steel mills and pulp-and-paper plants to food & beverage processors—rely on chelators to bind and neutralize metal ions that would otherwise foul equipment, discolor products, or impede catalytic reactions. As production volumes climb in emerging economies and legacy plants upgrade to higher throughputs, demand for scale inhibitors, cleaning formulations, and water-treatment additives increases in lockstep, creating a larger addressable market for chelating-agent suppliers.

  Rising industrial water consumption further strengthens this link. Modern factories must adhere to strict boiler and cooling-water quality standards to prevent corrosion and downtime, while also meeting tighter discharge regulations. Chelating agents such as EDTA, NTA, GLDA, and biodegradable EDDS are essential for sequestering calcium, magnesium, iron, and heavy metals, enabling plants to recycle process water and reduce environmental impact. As countries introduce tougher effluent norms and zero-liquid-discharge mandates, chelator usage per unit of output is trending upward, amplifying overall market growth.

  Product-quality requirements in high-value sectors like pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, and precision metal finishing add another layer of opportunity. These industries demand ultrapure process streams and defect-free surfaces, conditions that often hinge on the effective removal of trace metal contaminants. Chelating agents provide the selective sequestration needed to meet parts-per-billion purity targets, making them indispensable as global output of high-tech and specialty goods accelerates.

Restraints

• Pressure to reduce environmental impact
• Stringent laws limiting harmful substances

• Health risks from toxic components - Concerns over health risks linked to toxic chelating agents are restraining growth in the global market. Legacy compounds such as EDTA, DTPA, and NTA have been associated with cytotoxicity, kidney stress, and potential carcinogenicity when inhaled or ingested at high concentrations. Because these molecules are highly efficient at binding metals, they can unintentionally mobilize heavy ions in the bloodstream or the environment, raising alarms among regulators and occupational-safety experts.

  Worker exposure during formulation, transfer, and wastewater treatment presents additional challenges. Mist or dust containing concentrated chelators can irritate skin and mucous membranes, while accidental ingestion in food or pharmaceutical processing may disrupt essential mineral balances in humans. As industrial hygiene standards tighten, companies must invest in closed-loop handling systems, ventilation upgrades, and personal protective equipment, inflating operational costs and deterring small and medium enterprises from adopting conventional chelating chemistries.

  Regulatory bodies are responding with stricter limits. The European Chemicals Agency classifies NTA as a suspected carcinogen, and several U.S. states have placed discharge caps on persistent aminopolycarboxylate compounds. Meeting these mandates requires more frequent toxicity testing, detailed SDS documentation, and substitution assessments, all of which extend product-development timelines and constrain market entry for new formulations that rely on risky building blocks.

Opportunities

• Rising demand for sustainable products
• Advancements in green technologies

• Expansion into new industry sectors - The global market for chelating agents is poised to grow as suppliers expand into new industry sectors where precise metal control has become critical. Emerging applications in renewable energy technologies—such as lithium-ion battery cathode synthesis, fuel-cell membrane stabilization, and photovoltaic wafer cleaning—require chelators to regulate trace metals that impair efficiency or shorten service life. This crossover into high-tech manufacturing diversifies revenue streams beyond the traditional detergent and pulp-and-paper segments, while allowing formulators to command premium prices for specialized blends.

  Growth opportunities are also materializing in personal care and cosmetics, where clean-label brands rely on biodegradable chelators to boost preservative efficacy without resorting to controversial parabens or formaldehyde donors. In skin-care serums, they prevent discoloration by sequestering iron; in hair treatments, they counteract hard-water minerals that dull color. The same trend is evident in plant-based food and beverage processing, where chelating agents safeguard flavor, color, and nutritional integrity by trapping catalytic metal ions.

  Another promising frontier is medical diagnostics and drug delivery. Advanced imaging agents, radiopharmaceuticals, and antibody–drug conjugates employ highly selective chelators to bind radionuclides or transition metals with picomolar affinity, ensuring safe transport inside the body. As healthcare systems invest in precision medicine and minimally invasive procedures, demand for ultra-pure, pharmaceutical-grade chelates is expected to surge, opening a niche but lucrative market segment.

  The push for sustainable agriculture is driving adoption of chelating agents that enhance micronutrient availability in soil and hydroponic solutions, boosting crop yields while reducing fertilizer runoff. When combined with the tightening of industrial wastewater regulations, these diversified opportunities position chelator producers to capture value across a broader spectrum of end uses, mitigating risk and sustaining long-term market expansion.

Key players in Chelating Agents Market include;

• AkzoNobel N.V.
• Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
• BASF SE
• Nouryon
• INEOS Nitriles
• Cargill, Incorporated
• The Dow Chemical Company
• Lanxess AG
• Kemira OYJ
• Tate & Lyle PLC
• EMD Millipore
• Mitsubishi Rayon Co.

In this report, the profile of each market player provides following information:

• Company Overview and Product Portfolio
• Market Share Analysis
• Key Developments
• Financial Overview
• Strategies
• Company SWOT Analysis