Braskem develops new polyethylene with twice the life of existing materials

10-Sep-14

Braskem has developed a new polyethylene that offers two times the life span as compared to existing materials. Intended for pipes and water mains applications, it was developed at the company’s technology and innovation centre in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, as per prw.com. A total of R$16 mln (£4.4 mln) was invested in testing at the company’s pilot plants and in adaptations to the firm’s industrial facilities to prepare them to start production of the new resin. The new system employed in the process increased the product’s performance, with durability now calculated at 100 years for tubes under pressure, compared to 50 years for the previous resin.The improvements in mechanical properties – creep, impact strength and rapid crack propagation – will ensure that the new resin meets all of the required standards in this segment (ISO, DIN, EN and NBR). The resin’s main uses include pipes for water and natural gas distribution networks, pipelines to transport ore slurry and oil, sewage networks and water mains. Marcos Celestino, an application engineer at Braskem, said: “In addition to PAC2 [the federal government’s economic stimulus], the growing demand for this specific type of resin is also being driven by the government’s programme to promote universal access to basic sanitation, which seeks to improve public health conditions by reducing the country’s deficit in water and sewerage services.”