27
Assure
Natural Gas and Oil Pipeline Reliability by Cost-Effective,
High-Performance Thermoplastic Liners--Frontier
Performance Polymers Corporation, 26 Robert Street, Parsippany, NJ
07054-2933; 973-331-0923
Dr.
Jerry S. Chung, Principal Investigator, jschung@optonline.net
Dr.
Jerry S. Chung, Business Official, jschung@optonline.net
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-02ER83433
Amount:
$98,802
Leaks
in natural gas and oil pipelines are among the most severe problems faced by the
energy industry and among the most difficult to fix. Additionally, the
environmental effects of the continued deterioration of pipelines can be quite
drastic and costly. To protect the
environmental and public safety, the leaks have to be repaired as soon as
possible.This
project will develop a series of cost-effective, high-performance thermoplastic
liners that can be used to improve natural gas and oil pipeline reliability and
integrity; lower installation,
operating, and maintenance costs; and enhance environmental and public safety.
In Phase I, various low cost engineering thermoplastics will be modified
into high performance liner materials. The
materials will be targeted to meet the demands for particular pipeline
applications such as liner collapse resistance, hydrocarbon gas and fluid
permeation rates, pressure and temperature ratings, liner flexibility, and
environmental stress-cracking resistance.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Existing liner materials on the market are either too expensive or ineffective to meet the energy industry’s growing demands for cost-effective leak repair alternatives. The thermoplastic liner materials should cut costs without sacrificing performance. The total demand for these low-cost but high performance thermoplastic liners should exceed 800 million pounds or 2 billion dollars in the next decade.