Expansion of International Standard for PE-RT Pipe Could Widen Market Opportunities for Pipe Manufacturers Using DOWLEX? PE-RT Resins
Manufacturers of hot and cold water pipes made from DOWLEX™ PE-RT (Polyethylene of raised temperature resistance) Resins now have the opportunity to reach a wider market for their products, thanks to new revisions in the international PE-RT pipe system standard ISO 22391. Positive voting by International Standards Organization (ISO) member states on the revised standard, which covers “Plastic piping systems for hot and cold water installations - Polyethylene of raised temperature resistance - (PE-RT),” extends its scope to include PE-RT Type II materials. These materials can be used to manufacture pipes with attractive dimensions suitable for a broad range of applications. In parallel to the ISO approval procedure, EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland approved the EN ISO 22391 standard, which obliges all countries that are members of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) to adopt the standard as their national standard. National standards aligned with EN ISO 22391 will be identified by the addition of abbreviations representing the national standards organization of each respective country, for example DIN EN ISO 223491 in Germany and BS EN ISO 22391 in the United Kingdom.
“It has now been almost 30 years since Dow brought the first experimental batch of PE-RT to the pipes industry, with the intention to offer a polymer that does not need cross-linking but which still exhibits temperature and pressure resistance performance comparable to PE-X (cross-linked Polyethylene),” said Katja Wodjereck, Dow’s Marketing Manager for Pipes in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. “Over the past three decades, PE-RT has demonstrated that it offers many of the benefits of thermoplastic materials, from highly cost-effective production to weldability and options for recyclability. The inclusion of PE-RT Type II material in EN ISO 22391 shows that it is now globally accepted as a polymer option for demanding hot and cold water piping systems. It also validates the development work that Dow has invested in PE-RT Type II materials such as DOWLEX™ 2388 PE Resin, and will open doors to exciting new technical opportunities for pipe manufacturers in domestic piping applications and beyond.”
Linked to the revision of ISO 22391, PE-RT type II materials are now also included as viable component materials in EN ISO 21003, the international system standard for “Multi-layer piping systems for hot and cold water installations inside buildings”. The labeling of pipes produced under this standard must indicate which type of PE-RT has been used.
Dow’s family of DOWLEX™ PE-RT Resins has a proven track record of almost 30 years for delivering excellent performance in hot and cold pipe applications, with far over one million kilometers of DOWLEX pipe already produced. Pipes made from DOWLEX PE-RT resins are used in a wide range of hot and cold water pipe applications, including floor heating, radiator connections, snow-melt systems, heat exchangers, solar panels, heat recovery systems, hot or cold drinking water networks and plumbing. The product family includes DOWLEX 2344 PE-RT Resin, a PE-RT Type I resin specifically designed to provide maximum flexibility for use in pipe applications such as underfloor heating systems, while DOWLEX 2388 PE-RT Resin, a PE-RT Type II resin is optimized for higher stress bearing capability and very high extrusion speed in particular for the production of AL-multilayer pipes.
Both resins comply with the typical regulations for drinking water and food contact. For more information about these materials, please go to: www.plasticpipes.com
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