Plastic pipes are increasingly used for pressure applications such as potable water supply etc. Higher pressure ratings, particularly of PE pipes, have been increasingly gaining higher market share. For instance, most of the recent PE pipes fall in the category of P100 pressure ratings. To meet the requirements of enhanced pressure rating, weathering is the most crucial property primarily dependent on the quality of Carbon black. All the major Carbon black suppliers have been developing improved grades. The critical requirements of Carbon black are:
Long-term weatherability
The end product is required by utility companies to provide long service life without failure, despite being exposed to ultraviolet light. This requires very fine prime particles, which present more surfaces to incident light, and hence have greater UV light absorbing efficiency than a coarser particle size.
