Plastic Pipes Conference Association # 2023 Lake Buena Vista
Dr. Tania Weyland, Dr. Tobias Eltze, Dr. Rolf Wittlinger, Marie-Laure Bertet, Gregor Huber
A significant amount of water is lost in transit from the water treatment plant to the consumer. A major cause of water leakages is the deterioration of assets including the use of disinfectants. Using chlorine-based disinfectants is known to be extremely effective in eliminating waterborne pathogens, but they also weaken the additive stabilization system used to prevent premature degradation of the polymer. Operators report that pipe maintenance is estimated to be 1000 times more expensive than the cost of the pipe. The problem is global but predominant in the warm regions of the world (Australia, Southern Europe, Middle East, Americas) because the use of higher amounts of chlorine disinfectant coupled with higher ground temperatures accelerates the kinetics of the polymer degradation.
Furthermore, the migration of Non-Intentionally Added Substances (NIAS), including degradation substances (Arvin substances), into potable water is a recurring topic for the cold and hot drinking water distribution and related materials industries. NIAS are chemical compounds that are present in drinking water contact materials but have not been added during the production process.
This paper presents a new plastic additive technology, ISB, that enables HDPE pipes in contact with chlorinated water to have a service life of more than 50 years, addressing the challenges of water scarcity, environmental health and safety and resource efficiency.
The new technology meets the current drinking water regulations and features a reduction of the migration of NIAS, including Arvin substances.
Migration experiments of the new technology were conducted in chlorinated water according to the European Standard EN 12873-1 to measure the amount of degradation substances in drinking water that migrate from the pipes after stagnation in hot water, the harsher test condition, followed by a sound evaluation of the toxicological properties of the substances identified.
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