MATERIALS | POLYOLEFINS
Right:
Egeplast’s egeXXL PE 100-RC pipe helps Dresden cope with increasing industrial wastewater
expanding semiconductor industry there. The project, which began in 2023, combines open-cut and trenchless construction methods and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. Several new or expanded factories are
increasing wastewater volumes – causing the existing sewer network to reach its limits. The ISN connects the industrial area with the Kaditz wastewater treatment plant. Around two-thirds of the construction of the approximately 10km pipeline will be carried out using trenchless methods, involving the jacking of reinforced concrete pipes through the ground. Of this, 5,500m will be implemented as a gravity pipeline using 1200mm egeXXL pipe. Around 2,750m of this will be installed as long-pipe inlining within a pre-jacked reinforced concrete protection pipe DN 1,600, at depths of 6-14m.
Constant contours Meanwhile, Agru has supplied its Agruline pipe for a project to ensure that raw water from Lake Biel in Switzerland is free of the invasive quagga mussel. Two 750m Agruline pipe piping systems, with 800mm diameter and made of PE 100-RC, enable automated internal cleaning of all components of the lake water intake – including the intake screen. The system therefore works as both a transport medium and an integral part of the cleaning system, says Agru. The motivation for the raw water intake project
Below: Agru’s Agruline pipe ensures water from a Swiss lake is free of an invasive mussel
was the refurbishment of the Ipsach Lake Waterworks, and especially the effect of the mussel – which has been spreading in the lake since 2019. In conventional pipeline cleaning, a cleaning device is pushed through the pipeline, exits into the lake and is then recovered by boat.. In Ipsach, the objective was to develop a system that enables cleaning without any operations on the lake. Now, the dimensional accuracy of the pipes – and quality of the welded joints – allow a
mechanical cleaning device to be propelled by water pressure along the whole length without offsets. Pipeline, fittings and intake screen are hydraulically matched and have the same internal diameter. All pipeline components must be geometrically continuous and designed without cross-sectional changes. “For the new cleaning system to function, exact dimensional accuracy of the pipelines was essential,” said Hanna Schiff, project manager for Lake Waterworks Ipsach. The core of the piping system is two parallel PE 100-RC pipelines with an operating pressure of 2 bar and identical internal diameters. Geometric continuity enables the cleaning device to travel the entire route bidirectionally without the need for recovery. The pipe had to avoid ovalities, diameter devia- tions and misalignments at weld seams. Even minor shape deviations can increase mechanical resistance and jeopardise passability – meaning internal contours must be constant over the entire length. Agru made the pipes within defined production windows, to avoid tolerance shifts. The pipe sections to be welded came from an identical material batch and were marked as belonging together. The sections were joined using heated tool butt welding.
PE 100-RC was chosen for its resistance to
abrasion and corrosion, plus its suitability for recurring mechanical cleaning cycles. With coated steel, internal coatings and additional corrosion protection measures would be needed. PE 100-RC has high resistance to slow crack growth and minimum lifetimes over 8,760 hours in the FNCT
22 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | Spring 2026
www.pipeandprofile.com
IMAGE: AGRU
IMAGE: PIPELIFE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38
