SABIC® Vestolen A RELY For High Performance HDPE Pipes Increases Customer Output and Cuts Energy Bills

Sittard, the Netherlands – April 19, 2012 – As indicated by our customers, SABIC’s latest SABIC® Vestolen A RELY bimodal high density polyethylene grades are able to meet the stringent requirements for typical pressure pipes, as well as helping customers with considerable energy savings when producing the pipe.

Two grades of SABIC® Vestolen A RELY are currently available, both typically suitable of producing pressure pipe that meets the PE 100 standard. SABIC® Vestolen A RELY 5924R delivers good low sag performance for large-diameter pipes and pressure pipes with a low standard dimension ratio (SDR).

SABIC® Vestolen A RELY 5922R helps customers meet the stringent slow crack growth requirements for pressure pipe, enshrined in PAS (Publicly Accessible Standard) 1075. Certification to PAS 1075 enables the grade to be used for pipes intended for installation using the most demanding techniques, including new trenchless methods such as guided boring and horizontal directional drilling. These methods have a reduced impact on the environment, but they are more demanding of pipe properties, since surface damage during the installation process is more likely to occur.

Apart from their good mechanical properties, SABIC® Vestolen A RELY 5924R and 5922R have a further convincing advantage. Their unique rheological and morphological properties – created through a combination of proprietary catalysts and fine-tuned reactor and extrusion technology – could provide processors with considerable energy savings.

According to Jean Engels, Business Manager for HDPE at SABIC, processors will be able to make savings. “So, for example, a company already operating a line at full capacity could be able to increase output by as much as 16% (compared with commonly used bimodal HDPE) while reducing electricity consumption,” he says. “On the other hand, a pipe producer that does not need to raise production can realize energy savings by running at the same speed. Pipe size will also play a part in determining exactly how big the savings are.”

“These are features requested by the market,” says Engels. “We asked our customers what their most important problems were, and we have now come back with materials that we believe will enable them to better handle those problems.”

SABIC® Vestolen A RELY grades are currently available in black. For customers demanding fully colored pipe, SABIC is currently working on the development of two colored grades possessing enhanced resistance to slow crack growth propagation, commercially available in 2013.

SABIC is showcasing SABIC® Vestolen A RELY at IFAT Entsorga (Hall B6, Stand 511), the world’s premier trade show for innovations and services in water, sewage, waste and raw materials management, being held in Munich, Germany from May 7 to 11.

About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 29.24 billion (US$ 7.80 billion) in 2011. Sales revenues for 2011 totaled SR 189.90 billion (US$ 50.64 billion). Total assets stood at SR 332.78 billion (US$ 88.74 billion) at the end of 2011.
SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics.

SABIC has significant research resources with 17 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with more than 33,000 employees worldwide.

SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Kevin Noels
Marketing Solutions
Box 6
2950 Kapellen
Belgium
Tel: +31 164 317 011
E-Mail: info@marketingsolutions.be

This release was published on openPR.