MATERIALS | POLYOLEFINS
Above: Sabic’s new pipe innovation centre in The Netherlands has extensive testing
capabilities
The company says that the grade, Fingerprint
DFDA-7555 NT, is the only bimodal polyethylene (PE) resin for micro irrigation. Building on pre-exist- ing features of the portfolio, it allows tape manufac- turers to make tougher tape at higher throughput with better performance and stiffness. “We are committed to helping our drip irrigation customers and growers create strong solutions that will benefit their production, bottom line and sustainability efforts for the long-term,” said Stephanie Giles, customer and application devel- opment manager at Dow. The portfolio of products is suitable for applica- tions including profile-extruded tapes and tubes. This latest grade can be used to make products with downgauged wall thicknesses, better draw- down characteristics and a balance of extrusion ease and toughness. In addition, the new grade has high tensile and elongation properties, high burst strength and better crack resistance. Rachel Anderson, a research scientist at Dow,
added: “There is growing worldwide demand for sustainably-made irrigation systems, which is a key component for us.”
Right: Neste and partners have teamed up to make PEX pipes from chemically recycled feedstock –itself derived from PEX pipe
Pipe centre Sabic has opened a European pipe innovation centre, which it says will allow it to collaborate more closely with its local pipe manufacturers more effectively. The centre is located near the company’s manufacturing site at Geleen, The Netherlands. Sabic already has similar centres in Saudi Arabia and China, which also have customised pipe material development, testing, sampling and validation capacities. “Global urbanisation and population growth are driving demand for plastic pipes and new solutions in a range of infrastructure, domestic, industrial and agricultural market segments,” said Lina Prada,
32 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | Spring 2024
www.pipeandprofile.com
director of polymer application development and industry solutions at Sabic. The company offers a range of pipe materials, including Rely 5944HT – and HDPE compound for infrastructure pipes, made using bimodal technol- ogy. In addition, it has: a PE-RT II class compound made in an advanced multi-modal cascade process for domestic pipes; P1600 A polyolefin compound for abrasive slurry transportation in industrial applications such as mining and dredging; and P438J, a medium-density PE resin for use in agri- and aquaculture. The centre can carry out extensive pipe testing including full notch creep, strain hardening, tensile, rheological and impact testing. Another focus of its activities will be to accelerate the adoption of certified circular polymers for pipe.
Recycled PEX Neste, Borealis, Uponor and Wastewise have teamed up to make cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipes from chemically recycled feedstock – which itself is derived from PEX pipe. The partners believe this is one of the first implementations of chemical recycling of PEX. The co-operation sees Wastewise use its
pyrolysis-based chemical recycling technology to liquefy industrial waste from Uponor’s PEX pipe production. It then breaks the polymer back into its building blocks, to create an oil-like raw material. This is then co-processed in Neste’s oil refinery in Finland and upgraded into RETM – a drop-in feedstock for making new polymers. Borealis feeds the raw material into its steam cracker and poly- merises it into polyethylene as part of its Borcycle C chemical recycling portfolio. Finally, Uponor uses the PE to create new PEX
pipe, which is used in the construction sector for heating, plumbing and cooling purposes. It can
IMAGE: SABIC IMAGE: UPONOR
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