Plastic Sewer Pipes Made of PVC, HDPE and SDR

Gone are the days when sewer pipes can only be made of concrete and iron. Technological advancement has made possible the technology of plastic sewer pipes, or sewer pipes made of polyvinyl and polyethylene substances. These are exactly what PVC and HDPE sewer pipes are made of. Though it did not necessarily overhaul the conventional use of sewer pipes made of concrete and iron, plastic sewer pipes has considerably revolutionized the way sewer pipes are regarded.

The PVC Sewer Pipe

The PVC sewer pipe is made of polyvinyl chloride. For this, it is conventionally called polyvinyl chloride sewer pipe. PVC is commonly used in households and industrial establishments as drainpipes. This is not without reason. One, the use of PVC sewer pipe is relatively cheap as the material itself is renewable and not very hard to manufacture. It also withstands strong pressure, which is something drainpipes are usually subjected to. It is also flexible against temperature, up to 140 F. Because of these qualities, you can expect a PVC sewer pipe to last long, which is another advantage it has over other sewer pipes.

The durability of a PVC sewer pipe has also much to do with its composition. Because it is made of plastic, which is very different from sewer pipes made of concrete or steel, PVC sewer pipe do not bend easily nor succumb to penetration of soil chemicals. More than that, it is also non-toxic.
PVC sewer pipe is best for domestic use. It performs better as its diameter is smaller. However, there is a certain limit to a PVC sewer pipe’s diameter.

HDPE and SDR Sewer Pipe

PVC sewer pipe is considered as the starting point of the use of plastic sewer pipe. PVC sewer pipe has performed well enough that it has spawned its hybrid, the HDPE sewer pipe. An HDPE sewer pipe is composed of high-density polyethylene. This means that compared to the PVC sewer pipe, HDPE sewer pipe can hold more pressure since it is thicker.

The use of HDPE sewer pipe has become popular and is even used in building large sewer pipes. Whether or not the use of plastic sewer pipes like the HDPE sewer pipe is better than concrete sewer pipes is until now debated by industrial and sanitary engineers.

On the other hand, an SDR sewer pipe is a term for a well-proportioned sewer pipe, as SDR refers to standard dimension ratio. That standard ratio, which is considered as the minimum acceptable sewer pipe dimension, is the result of the average outside diameter divided by the pile wall’s thickness. The SDR is important in measuring the capacity of a sewer pipe to withstand pressure.