Pipes For Dealing With Landfill Applications

Pipes are used for a multitude of different purposes. In larger industries, pipes are essential in providing the means of transporting a certain element such as water, waste, gas and oil amongst many others. For landfill applications, there are certain specific types of pipes which are preferred and have different specifications than your standard household models. These pipes are designed and made in a way that it will support landfill applications while minimising environmental hazards and providing an ideal protection for what is transported in the pipes. The type of pipes we choose for even more specific use such as methane gas or leachate will be more sensitive towards the pipe choices we use, since careful consideration to environmental hazards and impact is needed.

 

 

 

 

Depending on what we use the pipes for, the selections vary with what we need the pipes to sustain. Whether we use them above or below ground (including landfill applications), some of the different pipe materials for all ranges of utilisation are:

 

 

•Iron - (waste)

•Ductile iron - (waste)

•Brass – (waste)

•Copper – (water)

•Galvanised steel – (water)

 

 

•PVC – (water/waste)

•CPVC – (water)

•ABS – (waste)

•PE – (water/waste)

•PEX – (water)

•HDPE – (water/waste)

 

It is not uncommon for some individuals to experiment with different pipes that are not specifically designed for a particular use (i.e. iron pipes for water use), but in general it is always best to choose a specific type that is designed for its specific purpose. Metal-based pipes are designed to last for a very long time but do have corrosive properties and can be quite costly to operate with due to their weight. On the other hand, plastic based pipes are becoming more of a popular choice due to their simplicity to work with, and are built from flexible rubber-like materials (such as PE based pipes). In addition, they are also quite durable and able to withstand environmental hazards and impacts.

 

 

 

 

The different types of pipes available for purchase and use are quite extensive. We cannot for example use a standard home based PVC water pipe for high-pressure water transport below ground. The standard PVC pipe will simply crack or break from the high pressure and heavy mass of landfill. When dealing with gas or landfill leachate, susceptible hazards such as liquid produced by leaching occurs when water is percolated through any permeable materials. These environmental hazards such as leachate is inevitably unavoidable, even after the landfill is capped to prevent rainwater from seeping in. Besides the capping material used (such as geo-membrane landfill liners, etc.), the careful selection of pipes for this area is very important.

 

 

For this very reason, PE based pipes are the ideal choice when it comes to pipe selection. Polyethylene pipes provide the necessary protection to withstand the surrounding hazards as well as still provide its functionality at maximum capacity. Some of the advantages of using PE based pipes for landfill applications including gas or leachate management are:

 

•PE pipes are high tensile and relatively elastic

•They can be repaired easily through electrofusion or butting

•They come in a range of different lengths and diameters (up to 630mm or more)

•Different variants offer single or multi-layered coatings for added protection and impact strength

•PE pipes are easier to work with since they do not weigh as much as metal based pipes, hence requiring less labour

•Has become a standard in most of today's piping industries

•Their coating and material prevents hazardous waste from seeping from and into the pipes themselves

 

 

 

 

As compared to other pipe materials, there are no other pipe variants which come close to Polyethylene based pipes. Their strength, durability, easiness to work with all remain a charm when utilising them for landfill use. In addition, when dealing with more environmentally sensitive elements such as gas and leachate, PE pipes add that layer of security that can minimise any hazards to both the environment itself as well as the pipe utilities in use (including the pipes).