HDPE proves best material for chemical dosing systems
Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right.
But for many communities around the world — particularly those in remote, island locations — it remains a challenge, with logistical, environmental, and technical obstacles to overcome to deliver safe and reliable drinking water.
Recently, the team at Advanced Piping Systems were pleased to share their HDPE expertise with a water treatment company tasked with supplying clean water to secluded island communities, by fabricating some new chemical dosing systems made from poly pipe.
The long lifespan and durability of PE pipe made it the perfect alternative to the old PVC chemical dosing systems, delivering positive outcomes for both our client, and the community they serve.
HDPE offers a durable, long-lasting solution
Chemical dosing systems help ensure water is safe for human consumption, by effectively measuring, controlling, and regulating pH levels.
Our client, the water treatment company, had been constructing their chemical dosing systems out of PVC, but approached Advanced Piping Systems when it became apparent that PVC was no longer up to the job.
“They thought PVC was a quick and cost-effective solution to their needs,” Ripley Craig, Customer Support Officer at Advanced Piping Systems said.
“But they soon found that PVC had a short lifespan, and the systems were needing to be remade sooner than expected.
“The PVC became brittle after only a short while in the sun, and simply couldn’t take the impacts that a material like HDPE can absorb.”
On our advice, the client decided to upgrade their chemical dosing systems to HDPE pipe.
Known for its 100-year design life, ease of installation, ease of modification, modular install format and durability, poly pipe was the ideal material for the job.
Replicating PVC spooling
To replicate the PVC spooling for the chemical dosing system in poly pipe, our client provided hand-drawn isometric sketches, which Advanced Piping Systems’ CAD team used to create a 3D model. From there, our team could begin the fabrication phase.
“Once the design was replicated into the 3D model, we entered the dimensions to ensure our fabrication team had all the information they needed to make all the spooling to the tight tolerances required,” Ripley said.
“Moving into the manufacturing side of the project, we took a lot of care to ensure the fine details were not overlooked.
“This included things like BSP and NPT threaded offtakes, and clearance around the flanges, which is something that is very hard to achieve with a material such as PVC.”
The spooling was then shipped to the client for installation, which was accomplished with no dimensional errors.
A positive outcome for client and community alike
Despite a design change midway through the fabrication process, Advanced Piping Systems’ flexible nature meant we could update the drawings and manufacture the spools to the new requirements, without any change to the delivery schedule.
“In the project debrief with the client, it was awesome to hear that none of the spooling had any dimensional errors and that they had been able to reach the install milestone, and continue to supply vital drinking water to these remote island communities,” Ripley said.
Want to learn more about the difference between PVC and poly pipe?
Head to ‘Why would you choose Poly Pipe over PVC?’ and ‘Why poly pipes are more environmentally friendly than PVC pipes’ on our website, or contact our knowledgeable Customer Service team today.
