Sustainable Pipes SolutionsAs the global need for improved pipe systems across infrastructure, industry, agriculture and households continues to grow, SABIC is putting increasing efforts into providing its suppliers and customers in the pipe extrusion industry with more cost-effective and sustainable solutions. The establishment of a new business unit dedicated to the pipes industry is part of a transformation program to accelerate implementation of its strategy to become the preferred world leader in the chemical industry by 2025. SABIC is targeting annual growth of its business in the pipes market of over 6% through 2025.

SABIC Targets Growth in Pipes Market
The Need for More, Better, Infrastructure

• Global investments in infrastructure are expected to grow on average at close to 4% per year between now and 2025. 
• Global demand for plastics pipes will most likely grow at a similar rate, reaching around 40 million tons per year. 
• Consumers are looking for sustainable products that ensure their health and safety; and specifiers want high performance, reliable solutions with low total cost and extended lifetimes.

Drivers Behind the Growth
There are several drivers behind growth in infrastructure:

• Overall increase in the world’s population and by movements from the countryside into towns and cities.
• Water management to cater for this massive growth is increasingly critical.  
• The sustainability of pipe networks needs to be improved. Plastics pipe systems will be an important part of that improvement, as they continue to replace more traditional materials (iron, concrete, clay) that are more expensive to produce and install, and more costly to maintain once in the ground. Use of plastics piping can add considerable value and increase system reliability.

Pipe Systems Across Industry, Agriculture and HouseholdsSABIC’s Vision

• As part of its overall vision of reinforcing its position in the chemical industry as a whole, SABIC intends to be the preferred supplier of solutions across the pipes industry. Its strength lies in its leading combination of materials and technologies, its cooperative efforts with suppliers and customers along the value chain, and its global supply network across the major continents.
• To extend the focus from the converters to the entire value chain, SABIC has put in place dedicated marketing and sales teams, together with technical and compliance experts, to get insight on its customers’ customized applications and solutions with the most added value. These teams will link with technical institutions, machine manufacturers, and additive suppliers, with the aim of enabling customers throughout the whole value chain to understand their needs and faster implementation of new developments.
• Supported by a comprehensive technology network that incorporates more than 19 research centers around the world. SABIC is working on translating challenges into plastic pipe innovations. SABIC’s customers have reported that such innovations have led to improved reliability, quality and reduced production cost at their plants.

Solutions Available Now and in the Pipeline
SABIC is focusing on its customers which are active in the following four main areas in the pipes industry: domestic (water, gas, conduit, ventilation); infrastructure (for transport of clean and waste water and gas, as well as cable conduits); industrial (including large diameter pipe for oil & gas); and agriculture & aquaculture.

Hot and Cold Water Pipes
SABIC is introducing special grades of polyethylene called PE-RT (polyethylene with raised temperature resistance) with improved high temperature resistance, which may be excellent candidates for hot and cold water pipes. These materials have a unique crystalline microstructure and stabilization package, which provides excellent long-term hydrostatic strength at high temperatures without the need for cross-linking.
 
Advantages of PE-RT include:

• better high temperature performance than standard PE;
• better low temperature impact resistance than standard polypropylene random copolymer (PP-R);
• ability to weld and recycle.

There are two types of PE-RT, Type I and Type II. These will help pipe producers cater for market needs in different regions. The first is an MDPE with properties similar to those of PE80 and the second is an HDPE with properties similar to those of PE100. SABIC is already producing PE-RT I and plans to enter the market with PE-RT II grades before the end of 2016.

SABIC is targeting at customers who use its grades for applications in underfloor heating, hot and cold water, and radiator connections.

For hot and cold water pipes, SABIC’s customers consider PP-R as the preferred material, and SABIC has already established an important position with its SABIC® VESTOLEN P grades in this market. SABIC recently introduced two PE-RT grade for hot and cold water applications.

SABIC is developing special grades of polypropylene random copolymer called PP-RCT, which have modified crystallinity that enables the production of pipes with very high long-term strength (MRS, Minimum Required Strength), especially at elevated temperatures. PP-RCT grades can also be evaluated by SABIC’s customers for the production of pipes with higher pressure resistance than standard PP-R with the same diameter, or thinner pipes with the same pressure resistance.

Lower wall thickness in the pipe offer weight-out and cost reductions through lower material consumption. Because the pipes are used in applications where the outside diameters are standardized, PP-RCT pipes have larger inner diameters, so pressure losses along the pipe are reduced. PP-RCT is also likely to process more easily, with processors benefitting from reduced energy consumption and/or higher extruder throughput.

Infrastructure Pipes
SABIC® HDPE grades are typically used for pipes which should safeguard the distribution of water and energy. SABIC® PP RELY grades are typically being used to offer safe handling for urban sewage and rainwater. To address a diverse set of challenges, SABIC has developed an ‘integral innovation approach’, with the main focus on the overall solution.

The introduction of the SABIC® PP RELY family is an example of the success of this approach. This technology enables the production of a special polymer design in PE100 grades with excellent low sag properties which SABIC’s customers typically use for producing the most challenging pipe dimensions and with enhanced resistance to slow crack growth.

An impressive example of the use of SABIC® PE100 on a major scale is the South-to-North Water Diversion Project—China’s largest-ever river diversion project.

Hebei Quan’en High-tech Piping Co., part of JM Eagle, one of the world's largest manufacturers of plastics piping, is using SABIC® P6006 PE100 for 2.5 km of pipe up to 900 mm in diameter for the project.

Cost-effective Solutions for Pipe Extrusion Industry
Superior Crack Resistant Solutions
A method that SABIC developed for assessing the long-term behavioral properties of plastics recently became a recognized industry standard, ISO 18488. This so-called “strain hardening test” method reduces the time and cost taken to test the slow crack growth (SCG) resistance of high density polyethylene (HDPE), with particular relevance for pressure pipes. The method is easy to implement in laboratories, is used in the development of new grades by researchers, and may also very valuable as a batch release test for resin suppliers.

Traditional methods to evaluate environmental stress crack resistance (ESCR) in pressure pipe materials, such as the full notch creep test, can take months or even years to complete, while the new method reduces this to just a few days. Obtaining reliable data on the long-term behavior of plastics has always been difficult, and this innovation is an important development for the market.

Solutions for Agriculture and Aquaculture
With conventional methods of farming and fishing already reaching their limits, SABIC has developed a number of alternatives for such techniques as pressure -and drip irrigation. SABIC® LLDPE 0132HS00 is a hexene-1 copolymer that provides high mechanical toughness and stress crack resistance is typically used for advanced drip irrigation systems. SABIC® VESTOLEN A 5061R is typically used for pressure irrigation of arable land. SABIC® VESTOLEN A and SABIC® PE100 are typically used for the construction of large on- and offshore fish cages. SABIC® VESTOLEN P is typically used for heating and cooling of farms and larger agricultural complexes.

Industrial Pipes
Chemical plants, mines, oil & gas and process industries need to transport aggressive and dangerous fluids and waste in a safe and economical way. Purpose-formulated SABIC® HDPE and PP are increasingly used for pipes that must also be able to withstand high pressures and temperatures.

Pipe Systems across Infrastructure
Geothermal pipes made with SABIC® VESTOLEN RELY PE100-RC may provide additional safety and protection of ground water resources. Grades used for mining and slurry pipes can reduce the total cost of ownership by offering a long service life due to their high resistance to abrasion and corrosion. For chemical plants, SABIC® PP is typically used for the transport of chemical waste. In the food industry SABIC® VESTOLEN P is a durable substitution for steel pipe systems for the transport of various fluids at low and elevated temperatures.

SABIC is also active in the area of HDPE coatings which are typically used for steel pipes. These may extend the lifetime of the pipe by preventing corrosion. In laboratory tests, SABIC grades have been shown to enable higher line speeds than rival products, with lower necking at the extruder die head.
 
Engineering Thermoplastics
In addition to its extensive portfolio of polyolefins, SABIC also offers a wide range of engineering thermoplastics which can be used for pipes. SABIC’s NORYL™ polyphenylene ether/polystyrene blends provide a wide variety of solutions for specific application requirements, particularly for molded components. They have best-in-class hydrolytic stability and very good heat resistance, enabling them to perform well in both hot and cold water applications.

ULTEM™ polyetherimide resin has excellent mechanical performance in high heat and chemically challenging environments. CYCOLAC™ and CYCOLOY™ plateable ABS and ABS/polycarbonate resins, with their resistance to cleaning chemicals and ability to create parts with a smooth finish, are considered by our customers as ideal for use in components such as taps and spouts. LNP compounds, based on a wide range of polymers provide exceptional mechanical performance in highly demanding applications such as submersible pump housings.

Solutions Around the World
SABIC believes it has an important role to play in the provision of pipe systems for a world that is rapidly urbanizing and in need of sustainable pipework networks to transport water and energy in all its forms. With an already long and successful history in pipe systems across infrastructure, SABIC is now expanding its position with new solutions, some examples of which are described here, provided by world-scale production assets around the world, supported by global technology centers, and optimized through close cooperation with partners along the value chain.

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About SABIC

SABIC is among the global leaders in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We manufacture on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: Chemicals, Plastics, Agri-Nutrients, Metals, and Specialties.

SABIC supports its customers in identifying and developing opportunities in key end markets such as Construction, Medical Devices, Packaging, Agri-Nutrients, Electrical and Electronics, Transportation, and Clean Energy.

Source: SABIC

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