roger Reinicker
# 2012 Barcelona
PE pipe was first adopted for use by the gas utilities in the USA in the early 1960’s. Today PE is the dominant transportation mode for low pressure (< 125 psi) gas distribution for residential and light industrial users supplying an estimated 95 percent of the service provided. High visibility heavy metal based yellow colorants/pigments were adopted as a safety feature for PE gas pipe from the beginning and are still used in North America today., while Europe adopted heavy metal free yellows for PE gas distribution (15-20) years ago. With increasing sustainability concern for work place exposure and waste management, the need to develop more environmentally friendly yellow colorants for PE gas distribution pipe is more pressing than ever.This paper will summarize the criteria for colors used in PE pipe and detail the efforts conducted to qualify a heavy-metal-free (HMF) solution. Among these are the non-interference of color with pipe physical properties, retention of color in processing, storage under various weather conditions, and during the rigorous testing regimens that qualify pipe for a pressure listing. We will demonstrate that this solution is now a viable option which meets all current performance requirements. keywords : pressure, polyethylene, pigment, weathering
