Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Green Materials for Doubling the Life of Drinking Water Pipeline
EPA Contract Number: EPD14011Title: Green Materials for Doubling the Life of Drinking Water Pipeline
Investigators: Butler, James
Small Business: HJ3 Composite Technologies, LLC
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: May 1, 2014 through April 30, 2015
Project Amount: $99,693
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , SBIR - Water Infrastructure Rehabilitation
Description:
Of the 18,000 miles of pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) within the drinking water transmission infrastructure laid between 1945 and 1996 in the United States, almost half, or 8,600 miles of PCCP is considered to be end-of-life infrastructure, awaiting funding for replacement. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) estimates the total federal, state and private industry cost to exceed $1 trillion over the next 25 years for drinking water pipeline repair/replacements. Absent funding for replacement, a solution is needed for extending the life of the Nation's 48-inch and narrower diameter, human-inaccessible, drinking water infrastructure; no conventional solutions exist beyond replacement.
HJ3 Composite Technologies (HJ3) of Tucson, AZ, an innovative green materials manufacturer and infrastructure repair firm, researched and tested new technology made from low carbon footprint materials, a low carbon footprint production process, a low carbon footprint installation process. The new material is a carbon fabric, utilizing a proprietary pocket weave design and embedding a carbon filament within the fabric to transmit electrical current and act as a heating coil to cure the impregnated fabric from the inside out after placement within the narrow underground pipe. The result is a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) pipe within a pipe, rated for potable drinking water and the pipes design pressure at significantly lower cost considering labor and associated downtime.
Hypotheses tested included (1) a new weave of resin fabrics, pre-impregnated with polymers, will prove significantly more efficacious for extending the life of existing, narrow-diameter potable water pipes than conventional methods; (2) the material will prove to be producible at varying production levels; (3) economic order quantity (EOQ) will prove to be much more sensitive to the size of the manufacturing facility than to materials and methods; and (4) the EOQ will prove attractive to both government and civilian end users.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
HJ3 looked at various carbon fiber tows consisting of 3k, 6k, 12k, 24 and 48k, exploring the resistivity of each carbon fiber size, including PAN vs. PITCH, to determine which size offers near optimal resistivity for uniform curing of the carbon fiber polymer matrix. Once all showed reliable conductivity, the company evaluated the cost and commercial availability of each packing size. The availability of 12k fiber and 24k fiber is high, with large stocks of 100,000 lbs and greater in inventory by most vendors.
HJ3 explored the implementation of an embedded carbon filament into a proprietary fabric. The prototype run of the filament integration was deployed and resulted in fabric anomalies that will need to be corrected in full-scale production. The sample heating system also was executed in a small-scale test to demonstrate the viability of heat-cured carbon fiber. The test was set up using a 12k carbon fiber filament embedded in a fabric. During testing the system cured after 5 minutes and was completely hard and dry to touch. The system returned to ambient temperature in 30 minutes.
Conclusions:
The results from Phase I indicate there is a significant opportunity to apply the technology in current pipe applications utilizing fiber-reinforced plastic to return strength to the structure much more efficiently. HJ3 also believes that the new technology, once refined to address minor anomalies found in Phase I testing, is feasible and commercially viable for a broad spectrum of infrastructure applications to include steel and high-density polyethylene pipe. Once tested in Phase II, the company believes that the material will prove to be three to five times stronger than steel in tension, with far greater durability, and with no toxicity or volatile organic compounds so that it may be used for drinking water applications.
From a reliability standpoint, HJ3 believes that Phase II will demonstrate that the material can be pre-impregnated with a machine, versus manually saturated in the field with wet lay-up techniques. From a maintainability standpoint, the company knows that carbon fiber is inert and does not corrode.
Commercialization:
The Phase II Commercialization Roadmap will conform to SBIR Phase I-II workflow, while providing an actionable plan and milestones to ensure success in turning the proposed product into a fifth commercial product line for HJ3.
The AWWA estimates that actual spending needs are $1 trillion over the next 25 years for drinking water pipeline repair/replacements. Based on HJ3's experience working in the water/wastewater industry over the last 12 years, 15-20% of the 8600 miles of PCCP considered end-of-life infrastructure is less than 48-inch diameter. The company believes that Phase II results will point to a 25-year life extension of existing U.S. pipeline infrastructure, with a resultant cost savings of $700-$800 billion of deferred capitalization.
Current competitors in the water pipe rehabilitation market include those manufacturing and installing FRP systems via wet layup, similar to what HJ3 has done over the last 12 years, and Cast in Place Pipe (CIPP) systems, especially for smaller diameter pipe. The disadvantages for these alternatives include a 24 to 48-hour cure time; more labor required for traditional wet-layup repairs; currently wet-layup systems cannot be implemented on the interior of small-diameter pipe; current CIPP systems are not able to repair high-pressure water pipe; CIPP systems utilize resins that are not approved for potable drinking water applications.
In addition to providing a 15-minute cure time, the company's polymer-cure CFRP system is non-toxic and meets NSF-61 standards. HJ3 is the first mover in this market, providing an NSF-approved, polymer-cured, patented structural strengthening system, which creates a significant barrier for entry.
Supplemental Keywords:
green materials, drinking water, pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe, PCCP, carbon filamentThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.