In any project where corrosive liquids are present and must be flowed through any form of piping, it is a great benefit to the project to use rubber lined pipes. Many contractors already know this but here is a breakdown for those who may not know the many benefits of doing it this way.

While some contractors have stated that they would rather do away with steel piping altogether that is not really a feasible solution due to the prevalence of steel in the construction industry and the otherwise durability that steel pipes bring.

The best solution to this is to use a rubber lined pipe where the rubber has been bonded to the steel through a vulcanization process during manufacture. There are four different kinds of rubber which are mainly used during the lining process. These include natural rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, and EPDM.

The process mainly consists of rubber sheets being placed within the already formed steel pipes. The rubber is then vulcanized by increasing the temperature and binding the rubber to the metal. The length of time and degree of heat will all depend on the hardness of the lining which is desired.

Such things as the internal contours of the pipe are, of course, always considered when deciding on which hardness of lining to use. To facilitate the ease of entry into the pipe, the pieces should be broken down into flanges which are of a predetermined length. The preparation of the surface area should be cleaned thoroughly and scrubbed free of rust. After the rubber lining is set, it must be visually inspected for any obvious defects including pinholes and blisters. If it has been deemed free of physical defects after a visual inspection, it is then tested with water to check for leaking before any corrosive liquids or chemicals are allowed to flow through them.

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