The world of water and wastewater relies fundamentally on transportation provided by pipes and pipelines. Networks of steel pipes at a water treatment facility; insulated pipelines for water and district cooling and sewage pipelines make up the hollow mesh of the water supply chain.
Due to the weight of water, transportation is very energy intensive, requiring pumping stations at regular intervals of the pipeline. But that is not the only issue, problems with corrosion, contamination of water and cracking, due to expansion and contraction in temperature variations, must be addressed by the pipe manufacturers.
This can be done by utilising the latest manufacturing techniques and technologies, as well as the most advanced materials available on the market. Of course, steel is the most common material used in piping, which has been subject to massive drops in price as the commodities markets feel the impact of a worldwide recession.
Speaking exclusively to Utilities Middle East, managing director of Dubai-based Amana Pipeline, Nabil Helou, highlights the trend of raw material prices falling in the market place, which leads to cheaper piping.
“We are a contractor, so we procure, purchase, insulate, coat, line and install the pipelines. Definitely prices have dropped – you are finding that pipe prices have fallen by 20-30% over the last six months,” says Helou.
“Coupled with that is another problem; because demand for piping has reduced there are a lot of steel mills closing down. As this happens you end up with minimal supply and also minimal availability of demand. Now demand has dropped, supply has dropped.”
However, it is not all doom and gloom according to Helou, as he expects things to pick up in the United States over the next six to eight months. With the rest of the world following suit, he believes this will bring steel prices back to more sustainable rates.
“There are a lot of investments still required in industrial infrastructure, which is where most of the piping goes. You’ve got district cooling, storm water drainage, the sewerage and firefighting, all of which are systems that are required and they are going to go ahead.”
The most pressing demand required from customers is longevity of their pipelines – maintenance and replacements are costly and, generally speaking, a nuisance. Amana strives to ensure that this is not an issue by supplying high quality material and manufacturing processes, the managing director says.
“During the growth of this country everybody was willing to compromise on certain standards to get things done on time. We are going back to the old standards, the old style mentality whereby they want it to last a long time and they want it to be done to the right standards,” he explains.
One consideration has been sourcing pipes and pipe fittings, such as valves and flanges, from the Far East, most notable from Chinese manufacturers. The fear of this has always been that by doing so you are compromising in the quality of the product.
But according to Gary Brodie, managing director of Pipeworks –suppliers of pipe fittings and valves to the utilities, construction and oil and gas sectors – the time has come for the Middle East to recognise the improvements that have been made in Chinese manufacturing.
“Many of the world’s manufacturers, particularly lower grade materials such as ductile iron, cast iron, bronze and brass, either are relocating their manufacturing to China or they are sourcing their material from China,” says Brodie.
“And there is resistance within the utilities industry here in the Middle East to use products manufactured in China. This may have been fair 10 to 15 years ago, as the quality at the time was poor. Today, I have visited many factories which are state-of-the-art – brand new machines, new technology, high quality, fully audited and first class.”
For Brodie, the advantages are clear. The Chinese have now ensured that practices and factories are of very high standards, and as a result the products that come out the other end are equally as high, yet much cheaper.
“In today’s economic environment, with savings of at least 20-30% – a significant amount – the buyers need to go and visit the facilities and gain a better understanding of how sophisticated they actually are and the quality of products being produced,” advises Brodie.
Much like any other infrastructure based service; quick delivery is also paramount to getting projects off the ground within the given timeframes. During the peak period of summer 2008, due to the unprecedented levels of demand, delays were common place when placing piping orders.
As the economy has slowed and projects are put on hold or are renegotiated, pipe suppliers are able to deliver in a more expedient fashion.
“Deliveries are a lot faster today than they were before because the demand has lessened. We are finding that six months ago you could go to a manufacturer and he’d say we are booked up for the next eight months delivery; well we are getting four month delivery now,” explains Helou.
“But now with steel mills closing, we may see this start to go back to five and six months. Another point is that stockers who used to have large surplus supplies are cutting their stocks in order to minimise their risks.”
The dreaded word in pipes and pipelines is corrosion and it must be avoided at all costs. This can be achieved by a number of methods including using exotic materials, coating both the inside and outside of pipes, jacketing systems, insulation and cathodic protection.
“A chilled water system for example, which is steel, is chemically cleaned before it is installed. It is insulated, and in general it’s blasted on the outside prior to its installation,” says Helou.
“If it is chemically treated and cleaned throughout its lifetime it should last 30, 40 or even 50 years. There are new technologies out there and there is new material out there such as GRP [glass reinforced plastics] and the HDPE [high density polyethylene] systems.”
On larger size projects however, steel is cheaper and therefore the more practical solution. It also is, as Helou points out, much more robust, and therefore can withstand impacts from ongoing construction work – a valid afterthought in cities such as Dubai, where plenty of work is underway.
“On corrosion technology definitely you’ve got new linings, new coatings and there are major advancements there,” he adds.
In spite of a faltering economy and a global recession, the outlook for pipe suppliers and manufacturers in the region remains positive. Thankfully, the supply of water, a challenging necessity of everyday life, will inevitably continue to grow along with the expansion of the region’s population.
“If you look at the region, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are still running at the sort of levels they were before the downturn. Even in Dubai, projects are still ongoing and pipes and valves are required,” says Brodie.
“There is still a need for infrastructure, and if these projects and developments go ahead then supporting utilities will be required.”
Populations across the Middle East continue to grow, as Brodie points out, and their need for electricity and water will not be affected by how the stock market is performing.
“In Saudi Arabia the local population is very high and that will continue to grow, so they cannot slow it down without impinging on their quality of life.”
Pipes will always need to be built, supplied and laid – of that surely there is no question. The fluctuating price and demand of steel, as well as a slowdown in regional projects, will keep the industry on its feet; but tip-toeing along the precarious pipe to success is the expected target.
Trenchless technology
How many times have you been in a traffic jam, with the road ahead looking like a freshly ploughed field, as row upon row of pipes are being readied to be plunged underneath terra firma? It is a long standing problem with laying pipelines in built up areas, but a solution is available.
Trenchless technology is subsurface construction work without the need for digging trenches. It can be done with a variety of different methods, from tunneling, microtunneling (MTM), horizontal directional drilling (HDD), pipe ramming (PR), pipe jacking (PJ), moling and horizontal auger boring.
Speaking after being announced as the new NASTT (North American Society for Trenchless Technology) chairman, Chris Brahler was highly optimistic for the trenchless technology industry in 2009.
“Despite a sluggish worldwide economy, I am optimistic about the outlook for the trenchless industry in the coming year. There is an ever-growing need for trenchless technology as a viable solution for solving major cities’ underground infrastructure problems,” says Brahler.
“The environmental benefits of trenchless technology will be attractive to those cities that are ‘going green’.
Current research shows that CO2 emissions are reduced when trenchless methods are used versus open-cut methods. This translates to a direct-cost benefit for cities that are facing carbon taxation.”
Perco are a UK-based company that specialises in Expandit pipe bursting system, which enables them to install new and much larger pipes inside old sewers in disrepair.
“Trenchless sewer renovation is gaining popularity in developing countries, allowing engineers to tackle problem sewers in urban areas. Where excavation is problematic, or too costly, pipe bursting is being used to install new sewers,” says a company statement.
Expandit is a hydraulic bursting mole that breaks up the existing pipe and forces the fragments into the surrounding earth, whether the material is clay, pitch fibre, concrete, asbestos cement, cast iron or uPVC.
Perco flew the Expandit system to Egypt last year, where a number of the dilapidated sewers in Cairo are in need of being replaced. Many of the sewers are in excess of 8m deep, and are in poor condition with partial collapses and deformations in many pieces.
The second Annual Trenchless Technology Summit will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Dubai on June 7 to June 10 this year, focusing on minimising cost, time, disruption and environmental disturbance through effective trenchless application.
Hot Plastic pipe
LyondellBasell, the Dutch petrochemicals major, recently launched its brand new PE-RT (raised-temperature-resistant polyethylene) resin, which is designed to withstand hot water pressure pipes.
Produced using LyondellBasell’s Advanced Cascade Process (ACP), the new Hostalen 4731B high density polyethylene resin exhibits excellent long-term creep performance and thermal stability, the company states.
“Critical to the performance of PE-RT resins is their ability to withstand a designed stress level over several decades at elevated temperatures. Our Hostalen 4731B resin provides this performance without cross-linking requirements, thereby offering a cost-effective alternative to a market traditionally dominated by cross-linked polyethylene,” explains Hansjörg Nitz, LyondellBasell’s Global Pipe business development manager.
“Manufacturers can achieve high line speeds with smooth pipe surfaces. The high-melt strength properties of the resin result in very good dimension stability of the extruded pipe, which allows thin-wall pipes within small tolerances. The resin can also be processed on HDPE and PP-R equipment,” says Nitz. The PE-RT was tested to a lifespan of 50 years at 70oC.
