Key points
Chemical processing, water treatment, marine or microelectronics companies, and power plants, all these industries need piping systems for transportation of their goods. Safety, efficiency, and reliability are the main drivers when it comes to choosing the right system.
A piping system includes, among others: pipes, fittings, valves, control and measurement units, as well as actuation.
These components can be made from various materials, including metals – such as steel, malleable cast iron, or copper but also plastic. Why is plastic a smart choice?
Peter Waefler, Global Product Manager for Jointing Technology at GF Piping Systems, provides the answers…
Light yet robust: PVC-U
“At GF Piping Systems, we use PVC-U (Poly Vinyl Chloride Unplasticised) for our piping system. For the manufacturing of PVC-U, PVC is taken as the main raw material, necessary additives are added and then produced by extrusion – without plasticisers. The plastic has various advantages: high strength, high stiffness, and hardness, good electrical insulation, good chemical stability, self-extinguishing, low water absorption, easy adhesion, easy to paint.
This robust yet lightweight form of plastic shows very good characteristics in the temperature range from 0° to 60°C and nominal pressure up to 16 bar, thereby ensuring the highest possible thermal stability and chemical resistance. PVC-U systems stand up to the most demanding conditions, particularly where media such as acids, alkalis, bases, and salts are transported. The universal solution covers all aspects of safety, efficiency, and reliability required to build, maintain and operate industrial piping systems”, Waefler says.
Low investment for tools and equipment
Using PVC-U as the preferred material for piping systems has many advantages. Plastics have a lower manufacturing cost compared to other materials. Next to material cost advantages, the construction is fast and easy to install. Moreover, the gluing process involves very little training and requires no complex machines or tools for the correct connection.
Especially in installations such as yachts where every kilogram is carefully planned for in the construction or renovation process, PVC-U comes in handy due to its light weight.
Additionally, pipe systems made of plastic can be put together without cement, and thanks to the tightest tolerances up to dimension d75, the entire system can be assembled in detail before it is finally firmly cemented and made ready for operation. This high level of flexibility is cost-effective as well as efficient.
Safety first
The reliable and economical treatment and distribution of, e.g., water and chemicals, is a challenge that is continually increasing. This is because standards and norms are more strictly applied to where drinking water is concerned, and also to the safe transportation of chemical substances.
Piping systems made of PVC-U meet these high requirements. Their adhesive connection makes them absolutely leak-proof and very resistant to chemicals. PVC-U systems are, therefore, ideally suited for drinking water treatment as well as food processing.
Corrosion & lifespan
The global cost of corrosion has been estimated at 2.5 trillion USD. Corrosion appears in metal products and can stop production and decrease work place safety. Metal is currently one of the main materials for pipes. Newer pipe materials include plastics which are corrosion resistant. The connection process between pipes can allow a PVC system’s lifespan to extend to 25 years and more.
Secure connections
Every piping system is only as powerful as its weakest component. The connections between the components of a piping system are often a weak point if not correctly glued.
Various special solvent-based adhesives meet diverse requirements such as applications with highly aggressive chemicals, drinking water, or contact with food. For PVC-U, ahead of connecting the components, the adhesive applied begins to dissolve the PVC so that when connected, it forms a homogeneous, continuous PVC connection.
It is even possible to create reliable bonds without solvents. Take for example a secure two-component adhesive based on methyl acrylate which works to fill the gap and is suitable for repairs as well. They often also have excellent technical properties such as long open time and fast curing time. Relevant European drinking water approvals are a must.
In addition to adhesive connections, reliable mechanical connections are also essential. Transition fittings and fittings to other materials (including metals such as steel, malleable cast iron or copper) offer optimal flexibility and possibilities of connection.
PVC-U piping systems for every application
The properties of PVC-U piping systems are in demand in numerous industrial areas: in drinking water treatment, microelectronics production, in sewage treatment plants, in shipbuilding, and the food industry. PVC-U is for example often the preferred solution for the manufacture of chemicals and vacuum applications.
Vacuum lines are used, among other things, for treating water (e.g., vacuum degassing, evaporation), but also for vacuum grippers transporting glass panes or drying applications. PVC-U piping systems are suitable for use in almost every branch of industry. It is not only their durability that makes them so versatile but also their simple construction.
Drinking water treatment: supreme discipline for piping systems
Drinking water has some of the strictest requirements in the world. This is why its preparation is such an important task and accomplishable only with the help of reliable and stable piping systems.
The material used for the piping system has to be capable of transporting aggressive media, which are necessary to give the desired quality to polluted water or even seawater. PVC-U piping systems are a perfect fit because of their resistance against chemical influences, they do not corrode, and do not release any harmful substances into the water.
The construction of water treatment plants involves the use of skids that represent each step of the process. For example, a sequence of processes for the production of demineralised water by filtration involves the softening and subsequent membrane process.
To prevent the water treatment systems from becoming too large, the skids have to be built in a very narrow space, which is why many changes in direction occur over a short distance. Capacity expansions in plants often require supply lines to be enlarged or closed. So, any piping systems for water treatment need to be easy to retrofit and quick to construct.
Insensitive, flexible to plan, easy to install, and very reliable: the list of advantages when using piping systems made from PVC-U is long – today, and in the future.
