LARGE DIAMETER PIPE | PROCESING
Bigger is better: latest in large-diameter pipe
Recent applications of large-diameter pipe include a petrochemical complex in UAE, water-harvesting systems in the US and a new desalination plant in Tunisia
As construction projects get larger and larger, the infrastructure that supports them – including pipes – must grow at the same rate. This can be seen in a wide variety of projects, from petrochemical complexes to desalination plants. Pipelife of Norway has produced – and shipped
– large diameter pipes for a desalination plant in Tunisia. The pipes were extruded directly into a fjord, in lengths up to 620m. In the past four years, the Mediterranean region
has experienced severe heat waves and low rainfall. Tunisia, which historically relied on surface water for its supplies, has been heavily affected by the droughts. “Throughout North Africa, there is a huge need for safe water,” said Bernard Ducros, export project manager at Pipelife Norway. “In many places, people have access to drinking water only every other day.” To alleviate water stress, several countries have
recently invested in desalination plants that turn salty seawater into fresh water. Last autumn, Pipelife supplied almost 6km of long-length HDPE pipes to a desalination plant in the coastal city of
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Sfax in Tunisia. A second delivery – for a similar amount of pipe – took place in June this year. The pipe diameters range from 20mm to 2.5m.
Once extruded, they are towed directly to the installation site. Transportation and storage by sea overcome pipe deformation, while the long lengths reduce handling and welding costs. Sonede, the national water distribution utility in
Tunisia which owns the Sfax project, has previously collaborated with Pipelife Norway. “This is our third – and largest – project in
Tunisia,” said Ducros. “Only when the pipes have been installed, and the system is working properly will we consider our involvement completed.” Extrusion and welding work began in February 2022 and still continues. Besides pipes, a large number of specific fittings – such as large tee pieces, manholes, diffusers and spool pieces – have been made at Pipelife Norway’s workshop in Stathelle. Completion of the Sfax desalination plant is
expected in the first half of 2026. The plant will cover an area of roughly 20 hectares, and its estimated daily output will be 100,000 cubic meters of fresh water.
Main image: Pipelife extrudes pipe lengths of up to 620m directly into the fjord, before towing them to a desalination plant in Tunisia
� September 2023 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 29
IMAGE: PIPELIFE
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