PPR

PPR Full Form:

Polypropylene Random Copolymer

What is PPR?

PPR pipe is a straight, stiff cylindrical pipe made from polypropylene random copolymer plastic by a continuous extrusion method. They often come in green or white and have an exterior diameter size range of 20 to 110 mm. The result is much thicker pipe walls than PVC. PPR pipe comes with a wide range of connecting connections, parts, and accessories for every pipe diameter.

How is PPR made?

Polypropylene is created during the polymerization of phene. The three industrial manufacturing processes are gas phase polymerization, bulk polymerization, and slurry polymerization. Modern techniques all use either gas-phase or bulk reactor technology.

In gas-phase and slurry reactors, the polymer is created around heterogeneous catalyst particles. Propene is carried over a bed of a heterogeneous (solid) catalyst in a fluidized bed reactor, where the resulting polymer is separated as a fine powder and subsequently transformed into pellets. Recycled unreacted gas is fed back into the reactor.

Liquid propene is used as a solvent during bulk polymerization to avoid polymer precipitation. Propene is kept liquid at pressures between 30 and 40 atm while polymerization occurs at temperatures between 60 and 80 °C. For bulk polymerization, loop reactors are typically employed. The bulk polymerization is capped at 5% ethene as a co-monomer due to the polymer's poor solubility in liquid propene.

In slurry polymerization, inert diluents like butane, pentane, or hexane are frequently utilised to sustain the developing polymer particles. Gaseous propane is added to the mixture.

PPR uses/forms

Following are the most common uses of PPR-

Hot and cold potable water piping in residential, industrial, and public installations.

The  central radiator heating water of building is mostly arranged in circular loop.

Industrial piping for transferring water, sanitary liquids, liquid food products, compressed air, and aggressive chemicals eg. Highly acidic or alkaline solutions.