DenChem is the culmination of an 18-month, project-specific design process by Naylor Drainage. During 2001, the NATREF Oil Refinery in Sasolburg, South Africa, experienced severe structural defects within a major pipeline, including corrosion of the pipe invert and collapsing of pipe walls. The significant damage to the existing line resulted from the chemical constituency of the effluent, which included a highly alkaline wastewater liquid with a pH value of 11.5 and temperatures ranging between 70-120å¡C.
At the time, engineering consultants GMKS approached Naylor Drainage for advice, as there were no existing pipe options that could satisfy all requirements of the NATREF project. The ideal material for use just so happened to be in the possession of Naylor Drainage, however, its Hathernware pipes had not yet been designed for trenchless installation. Following 18 months of development work, the Hathernware material was merged with Denlok jacking pipe to form a pipe that would be fully protected from alkaline and acid attack, with the ability to operate at temperatures of up to 130å¡C and that could be installed using trenchless techniques. This product is now known as Naylor DenChem vitrified clay jacking pipe.
Since being used on the NATREF Oil Refinery project, DenChem has won numerous innovation awards including the Microtunnelling Innovation of the Year Award from Tunnelling & Trenchless Construction magazine, and the United Kingdom Society for Trenchless Technology award for Technical Innovation. Thanks to the product’s unique durability, practicality and innovative nature, demand has continued to grow on a global scale.