Is PE pipe affected by exposure to UV light?

Weathering Resistance of PE80 and PE100 Black Compounds

Black PE80 and PE100 compounds contain uniformly dispersed carbon black, with 20nm primary particle size and concentration between 2 to 2.5%, which provides sufficient protection to the pipe from degradation caused by intensive UV light. This is particularly important for pressurised water transportation above ground, for which a vast amount of research has been undertaken (reference list below). This has provided clear understanding of thermal and photo-stabilisation techniques for outdoor applications of PE materials. Carbon Black (CB) has been established as the most efficient and economical solution to prevent photo-degradation of PE due to UV light exposure and can also provide synergistic performance with other antioxidant protection.

[1]      J.B. Howard, H.M. Gilroy, Natural and artificial weathering of polyethylene plastics, Polym. Eng. Sci. 9 (1969) 286–294. doi:10.1002/pen.760090409.

[2]      E. Kovács, Z. Wolkober, The effect of the chemical and physical properties of carbon black on the thermal and photooxidation of polyethylene, J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Symp. 57 (2007) 171–180. doi:10.1002/polc.5070570120.

[3]      F.R. Williams, M.E. Jordan, E.M. Dannenberg, Effect of the Chemical and Physical Properties of Carbon Black on its Performance in Polyethylene, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 9 (1965) 861–886.

[4]      M. Liu, A.R. Horrocks, Effect of carbon black on UV stability of LLDPE films under artificial weathering conditions, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 75 (2002) 485–499. doi:10.1016/S0141-3910(01)00252-X.

[5]      J. V Accorsi, The Impact of Carbon Black Morphology and Dispersion on the Weatherability of Polyethylene, in: Int. Wire Cable Symp., 1999.

Testing of the Resistance of the PE Pipe Material to UV

Tests to confirm the resistance of the pipe material to UV light are included within international standards, which have also been used to optimise the type of CB, particle size, concentration and dispersion. The influence of dispersion upon performance is also discussed further within the following position paper.

Weathering of PE pipes

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