Trend of PE pressure piping in European market

In the past 50 years, there have been several developments and changes in the European PE pressure pipeline market, from PE63 to PE80 to PE100. The transition from PE80 to PE100 is different in every European country. For example, in Spain, PE100 has more than 85% of the polyethylene pressure pipe market; in France, the polyethylene pressure pipe market is still mainly PE80, due to the fierce competition of other pipe materials, the total market size of polyethylene pressure pipe is still quite small. In the early 1960s, since the introduction of natural gas and water, polyethylene has had a great impact on pipeline system design around the world. In many countries, PE pipelines account for more than 90% of the newly installed natural gas transmission lines. PE high-pressure pipelines have securely gained market share in water distribution systems and pressure drainage systems. This is because PE materials have better advantages than traditional rigid materials: good flexibility, welding ability, corrosion resistance and so on.

For the first time, from 1955 to 1960, HDPE was used as a mixture of pipes. By 1972, medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipes first appeared in Europe, improving the resistance to slow crack growth (SCG).