Relying on technological innovation, SHSH Petrochemical Technology Group successfully developed the first batch of “black materials” for large-diameter natural gas pipelines with up to standard performance, which can effectively get rid of the dependence on imported materials when manufacturing large-diameter pipelines in China; at the same time, through continuous research and development of market needs New materials.
Why is "black material" popular? Its name is black material for high density polyethylene. "High-density polyethylene special material is light in weight, corrosion-resistant, creep-resistant, easy to process, has a good balance of rigidity and toughness and slow crack growth performance. It is used for gas pipelines, urban pipe networks, heating and communication cables. Other important raw materials for engineering pipelines are very popular in the global market.” Zhou Hao, chief engineer of SHSH Plastics Department, pointed to two piles of plastic-like black particles and white particles, and said, “Special materials are divided into white materials and black materials. The black material has carbon black added to the formula, and the product performance is better. It can be used to manufacture municipal backbone network pipelines. It has broad application prospects in the pipeline manufacturing fields of key industries of the national economy and people's livelihoods such as energy extraction, and the market demand is great."
However, there are few chemical companies in China that produce black material for pipelines, especially large-diameter pipelines, because the thicker the pipeline, the higher the performance requirements for the black material; when the pipe diameter is greater than 800 mm, the pipe wall becomes thicker and the black material In the hot melt state, the phenomenon of "melting" will occur under the action of gravity, and the pipe wall will easily become uneven in thickness, which affects the quality and safety of the pipe. In the past, when manufacturing large-diameter pipes over 800 mm, domestic companies either used traditional metal or multilayer composite pipes, or chose imported special polyethylene black materials, and the cost was very high.
However, SHSH has been studying the black material production process. The high-density polyethylene black material produced two years ago can only manufacture small-diameter pipes. After two years of continuous improvement of the process, it has developed black material for large-diameter pipes. After continuous optimization of core process indicators such as melt index and tensile strength, the first batch of black materials for large-diameter pipes that meet the standard came out smoothly. At present, this batch of black materials has been delivered to downstream pipeline manufacturers for testing and certification after being manufactured into large-diameter pipes.
"We have confidence in our products, because the small-caliber black material produced before has passed the pe100+ certification of the international authoritative organization, and the gas pipeline made of related black material has a service life of at least 50 years when buried in the ground." Zhou Hao said.