HISTORY OF POLYETHYLENE PIPE

HISTORY OF POLYETHYLENE PIPE

The history of the polyethylene (PE) pipe began with early civilization's attempts to find a suitable transport medium that could move water and other fluids from one place to another. Concrete has, in some form or another, been around since the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians, while steel was first patented in 1855. Plastic piping, on the other hand, beginning with polyvinyl chloride or PVC in 1926, dates back to the 1930s, when it was utilized for sanitary drainage. PE was first developed in 1933 as a flexible, low-density coating and insulating material for electrical cables.

 

HDPE, however, is quite a bit different material from the PE used in the 1930s. LDPE was discovered in 1935 and it was not until nineteen years later in 1954 that commercially available quantities of HDPE appeared on the scene. As a relative newcomer in the piping industry, PE is constantly making its way into applications normally reserved for the older piping technologies. Since the late 1950s and early 1960s, PE has made its way into every corner of our lives launching a multi-billion dollar industry. It is currently the largest volume plastic in the world. This is partly due to the fact that there are certain characteristics (or combinations of characteristics) of HDPE that make it an attractive alternative. Whether it is an issue of installing a new piping system or rehabilitating an existing system, there are certain requirements placed on the piping material: that it be simple to install, that it doesn't leak or cost a lot to maintain, and will last a very long time.