Giant HDPE pipe replaces steel for outfall project

02 Sep.,2022

 

8 inch hdpe pipe

8 inch hdpe pipe

The largest pressure pipe ever used in North America will be connected to a new tertiary wastewater treatment plant in the town of Esquimalt on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

When it opens in fall 2020, the facility will take the water from 413,000 people washing dishes, doing laundry and flushing the toilet and put it through an extra level of filtering to remove inorganic compounds, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, as well as pharmaceuticals, hormones, microplastics and other contaminants.

The massive pipe, which is made of high density polyethylene and has an outer diameter of 7½ feet, will serve as the outfall for wastewater treated three times before it is discharged into Victoria Harbor. The pipe was manufactured by Agru America Inc. at its "XXL" facility in Charleston, S.C., for extruding products with diameters of 65 inches to 128 inches.

"Before Agru built this facility in 2017, a domestic manufacturer for HDPE pipe larger than 65 inches OD [outer diameter]did not exist. These sizes are now available and this project demonstrates that it is possible and it works, which are great steps for plastics," Melissa Grace, vice president of Agruline, said in an email.