A completely new product has been rolled out to the anti-static fibreglass pipe market – the Russian manufacturer ZCT has kicked off commercial production of the first-ever high-pressure anti-static fibreglass pipes containing single wall carbon nanotubes. This brand-new product, created with TUBALL single wall carbon nanotubes produced by OCSiAl, features permanent and uniform conductivity, as well as being 15% stronger.
The traditional way of providing composite pipes with anti-static properties has been to coat the fibreglass surface with anti-static paint. However, this approach has always had a number of technical, financial and operational disadvantages. These include the lack of volume conductivity in the pipes, the coating’s susceptibility to abrasion, and the need to include additional stages in the manufacturing process, which leads to extra costs.
TUBALL, which contains single wall carbon nanotubes and is produced by OCSiAl, is a universal additive for materials. When these nanotubes are embedded into a material matrix, they provide it with high electrical and thermal conductivity, and they enhance a number of mechanical properties too. Besides its core product, OCSiAl is also developing and marketing a line of ready-to-use concentrates for various industries. These easy-to-use technologies greatly simplify the process of introducing nanotubes into materials, with virtually no disruption to the formulation or the production process.
ZCT has kicked off commercial production of their anti-static fibreglass pipes following the successful completion of trials using TUBALL single wall carbon nanotubes. The addition of nanotubes into the resin provides permanent and uniform volume conductivity in the fibreglass, which is of crucial importance in reducing risks at explosion-hazard facilities. Moreover, the introduction of single wall carbon nanotubes has led to a 15% reinforcement of the pipes.
“Single wall carbon nanotubes are widely regarded as a next-generation additive, and this fact is supported by the rapidly growing number of effective applications all around the world. However, this is the first case of bringing conductivity and reinforcement into fibreglass pipes with the use of single wall carbon nanotubes. This successful and impressive experience will definitely support the mainstreaming of nanotube use in the composite pipe industry,” comments Alexander Zimnyakov, OCSiAl Russia Vice President.