BorSafe™ HE3490-LS-HP now certified as PE100-RD

Ensuring that the polyethylene (PE) pipes used in modern water networks are resistant to disinfectants is key to their reliability and long working life. This is particularly critical when aggressive disinfectants are used in high-temperature regions.

As a global leader in water management, SUEZ has developed an accelerated aging methodology to test the long-term effects of exposure to water disinfectants on PE100 pipes in drinking water systems.¹ This eighteen month length test, involving exposure to controlled chlorine dioxide concentrations, is designed to simulate the conditions of some of the most aggressive media in drinking water distribution. Their recently completed test of BorSafe™ HE3490-LS-HP, a PE100-RC pressure pipe grade for pipe systems based on Borealis proprietary Borstar® bimodal technology, has resulted in its certification as disinfectant resistant under the NF114 quality mark group 2 as PE100-RD managed by LNE (Laboratoire national de métrologie et d’essais). The high performance of this grade was demonstrated by its resistance not only over the required eighteen months, but for up to twenty four months, at which point the test was stopped.

The outstanding material performance of BorSafe HE3490-LS-HP makes it well suited for No-Dig installation methods, as well as renovation methods such as pipe slip lining, pipe bursting or pipe slitting. Here the grade’s high resistance to slow crack growth enables cost effective and less invasive installation methods, while keeping maintenance costs low and leakage rates low. In short, BorSafe HE3490-LS-HP is an optimal solution for extending the service life of safe and reliable drinking water networks, even in the most aggressive environments. Accelerated aging tests like the one conducted with BorSafe HE3490-LS-HP provide a valuable service to the entire pipe value chain.