European Piping Specifications

In selecting a suitable piping specification for refinery or process plant service, the average engineer rarely needs more than a superficial understanding of what the specifications cover. If the chemical composition is of the desired type and the strength characteristics and dimensions are known, the purchaser relies on the specification 

For this avers e engineer, the comparison Tables 7-23 through 7-31 will give sufficient advice on which outside-U.S. specifications are comparable to the more familiar ASTM and API specifications. The specifications tabulated are limited to pipe such as is commonly used in process plants for pressure applications. 

Steelmaking Process and Piping Specs. ANSI B31.3 specifically limits steelmaking processes to electric furnace, open hearth or deoxidized Acid Bessemer steel. On the other hand, both API 5L and ASTM A53 permit undeoxidized Bessemer steel. In using these specifications, it is necessary to clearly state any limitations of steelmaking practice that may be considered desirable to ensure adequate quality. 

Electric furnace, open hearth or oxygen converter. 

Open hearth, electric furnace or oxygen canver-ter. 

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Lancaster, J.F. Hoyt, W.B. U.S. vs. British and European Piping Specifications. Hydrocarbon Processing, October 1966, p. 127. 

The mechanical properties (e.g., impact strength, Vicat values, and heat distortion temperature) of organically stabilized 110-mm pipes compare well to lead-stabilized pipes and fulfill the European standards specifications. Currently available longterm tests (Fig. 3.13) indicate that pipes stabilized on an organic basis fulfill future standards, and their service life can be extrapolated to at least 50 years [565]. 

Carbon and Carbon-Manganese Steel Pipe. Tables 23 through 26 list United States and European specifications for seamless and welded carbon and carbon-manganese steel pipe. Each table is intended to contain material that is equivalent in tensile strength and similar in over-all characteristics. 

Heat stabilizers are targeted exclusively at PVC. Plasticizers are almost as dependent on PVC as heat stabilizers. Lead stabilizers have served the PVC industry as heat stabilizers. The European Commission has highlighted concerns about the dangerous nature of lead stabilizers which should be phased out, but did not indicate a specific timetable. The commission also highlighted that lead stabilizer would not be approved for use in PVC pipes after 2003. In America, unlike in Europe, window and door profiles were stabilized with tin stabilizers. However, in Asia, lead stabilizers still are in use along with PVC. 

Environmental laws regulating the disposal of hazardous chemical waste may also be informed by the LCA concept. The Waste in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive in the European Union is closely linked to the RoHS directive restricting the use of specific chemicals in electrical products. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in the United States complanents other environmental laws that regulate toxic chemicals by regulating the disposal of the hazardous chemical by-products of industrial processes. A significant difference between RCRA and WEEE is that WEEE is linked to pollution prevention laws such as RoHS, while RCRA is more of an end of the pipe law. 

Most rigid vinyl articles will pass the tests listed above without addition of flame retardants. For example, pressure pipe as formulated with standard lubricant, polymeric modifier, and stabilizer systems (Section 4.2.3) will have an LOI of 48-50 and pass Steiner tunnel and NBS smoke tests. It would not, however, conform to some European standards in past use and to EU specifications under development. For such applications, the combination of l-3phr flame retardant with l-3phr smoke suppressant would be needed. The exact level depends on the type and level of polymeric modifiers in use, CPE being, for example, more useful in flame tests than nonhalogenated modifiers. The latter, on the other hand, will tend not to contribute to smoke density. In rigid vinyl, it is likely that FR/LS standards can be met with systems not containing antimony. 

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