PVC Pipes: What can be produced with Recycled Granules and how waste raw materials are processed

In the world of pipes for the transport of liquids , with or without pressure, the market is crowded with many raw materials which compete for market shares and clash without holds barred, showing off the advantages in the durability of the materials produced, in ease of installation, weldability of the elements or the correct accessories for connection, cost-effectiveness, sustainability and compliance with regulations.

If we examine the sector of pressureless pipes we see that in the past the use of cement and metal, in some situations, was the consequence of a step forward in the industrialization of products for the transport and discharge of water compared to pipes which were made in fired clay.

The spread of concrete pipes, which seemed eternal, clashed with the birth of plastic polymers which represented a technical and economic improvement compared to traditional canalization systems.

Civil construction began to use PVC in house drains, making the installation of liquid transport networks extremely simple and economical, and then extended to many other applications such as the irrigation, electrical and gardening sectors.

The PVC pipe has taken on a role of absolute importance also due to its intrinsic qualities such as:

• Duration exceeding 100 years based on pressure and aging tests

• Good resistance to chemical and oxidative corrosion

• Reduction of service interruptions

• Antistaticity

• Water repellency

• Resistance to internal and external pressure

• Resistance to abrasion

• Recyclability

For many years, virgin raw materials were used for the production of all types of rigid and flexible pipes, until the sector began to collect waste and reuse it according to the rules of the circular economy .

Today the production of PVC pipes, except for particular specifications, is largely carried out through the processing of recycled materials.

How is waste recycled?

First of all, the waste can derive from the collection of used pipes or connection sleeves but, based on the recipes required by the market, the raw material can be mixed with other PVC that comes from different supply chains.

For example, in the rigid PVC sector, window profiles can dynamically enrich the recipe, so waste from roller shutters or credit cards or profiles for the electrical sector attribute improved technical characteristics based on the percentage used.

In the Soft PVC sector, electrical cable covering sheaths, gaskets, water containment sheaths and industrial processing waste make up the menu for creating the right recipes.

However, these mixes must be precisely verified in the laboratory before the production of the recycled granule, in order to exactly match the technical characteristics requested by the customer.

But to achieve laboratory verification one must go through the waste recycling phases which normally include:

• The selection of elements by application type and color

• Grinding of waste and deferrization

• Micronization if required

• Granulation of the ground coffee with the addition of the correct additives

What applications can be achieved through the use of recycled PVC for pipes?

There are many sectors that the use of recycled raw materials allows us to reach, guaranteeing the customer the production of reliable, economical and long-lasting elements. Let's see some:

• Rigid pipes suitable for the discharge of non-pressurized water in civil construction with variable thicknesses and diameters

• Non-pressure field irrigation pipes with different dimensions and diameters based on length and flow rate

• Tubular elements in the horticultural sector suitable for supporting plants

• Small flexible tubes suitable for tying plants

• Small diameter flexible corrugated tubes suitable for containing electrical cables

• Support tubes, called cores, of rolls of industrial materials such as plastic films, fabrics or other materials that are wound into reels.

• Solid bars suitable for industrial production by turning

• Irrigation hoses for the garden

• Corrugated or smooth tubes to protect telecommunications cables

• Pipes for soil drainage

There are, evidently, many other applications of pipes made with recycled PVC , just as there are many other applications of recycled granules in the creation of commonly used products which we will talk about later.

Category: news - technical - plastic - recycling - PVC - pipes - granules