TPi January 2017

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January 2017 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL 33
products & developments
Press fittings for desalination plants
Eurotubi is promoting its AISI 316L
stainless steel press fittings as a
choice for systems downstream from
desalinators, both for those dedicated
to industry and for those for making
saltwater potable. The qualities of the
Eurotubi Pressfitting system, such as
the assembly speed, are combined
with the hygienic qualities of AISI 316L
stainless steel and high resistance to
corrosion.
There are many civil and industrial
applications where it is essential to take
saltwater from the sea and transform
it into potable or desalinated water.
Despite continuous technological
progress, the plants, and especially their
energy requirements, mean that water
desalination is still a costly process.
Most large water desalination plants are
located in countries such as the Arab
Emirates where there is a scarcity of
water but a large amount of monetary
resources.
Eurotubi states that its AISI 316L
Pressfitting system can help contain
the high costs of desalination plants.
The junction process requires around
50 per cent less time compared to
welding, resulting in faster system
installation, and the press fittings can
be set without permission to use open
flames or qualification licences. On
average, water desalination plants
require thousands of metres of pipes.
Because of their thin walls, AISI 316L
steel press fittings and pipes weigh
less than other systems that are made
with the same material.
Eurotubi Europa Srl – Italy
GF Piping Systems and the Ponte Vecchio
Multi/Joint 3000 Plus flange adaptors
and ELGEF Plus electrofusion couplers
from GF Piping Systems have been
used to help deal with a giant sinkhole
that appeared near the Ponte Vecchio in
Florence, Italy.
In May 2016, alongside the quay in
downtown Florence, a large part of
the embankment collapsed and came
crashing down a number of metres. A
leaking cast iron water pipe washed
away a large amount of soil, causing a
giant hole with a swirling water mass,
which swallowed numerous parked
cars.
Within 24 hours the worst of the mess
was cleaned up and the water supply
for that part of town was restored with
a bypass, but it would take at least
six months for all the damage to be
repaired and the embankment restored.
The water company in Florence,
Publiacqua SpA, requires new suppliers
of materials to go through a screening
process before they can supply
anything. GF’s Multi/Joint 3000 Plus
system had already been approved for
use in the company’s network.
One of GF Piping Systems’ business
partners, SDM Srl, is located in
Calenzano, near Florence.
The company supplies cast iron and
PE fittings and accessories to various
gas and water companies. The owner,
Massimo Santini, also owns a transport
company with trucks that can carry
12.5m-long pipes.
SDM was contacted almost immediately
after the embankment came down.
The company got in touch with GF
Piping Systems and other suppliers
and was quickly able to deliver the
required materials for the bypass in PE.
Two Multi/Joint 3000 Plus DN600 flange
adaptors were immediately supplied
from stock to Publiacqua. GF Italy
supplied two additional DN600 flange
adaptors and eight ELGEF electrofusion
couplings from the GF Piping Systems
distribution centre in Italy.
GF Piping Systems Ltd – Switzerland
GF supplied eight ELGEF electrofusion couplings
Photo credit: GF Piping Systems