The tunnel is an aging sewer or waste pipe somewhere under an American street, and the train is a “light train,” the caboose of which is an ultraviolet light array superheating an innovative spun-glass liner that allows contractors to perform trench-less rehabilitation of aging pipelines rated to last 70 years.
Already used in Europe, Germany-based Saertex, whose American headquarters is in Huntersville, recently became the only U.S. company to manufacture the liner material that is set to replace the current method of using a needle felt fabric to rehabilitate pipelines.
Saertex executives unveiled the product and the installation method at the company’s plant off Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road last Thursday, demonstrating the strength of the Saertex-Liner by parking a car on a section of the hardened liner wrapped only by fabric. The installation of the product allows contractors to enter a section of pipeline through a manhole, feed the liner through a section of cleaned pipe, then use the UV light train to “cure” the liner, providing a super hard, more environmentally friendly liner rehabilitation in just a few hours.
The glass liner is greener than traditional needle felt liner applications because it results in zero traces of styrene leaching into the ground or, worse, into homes.
The liner fabric is wrapped in styrene-tight protective film and fed through a section of pipe to be repaired. It is then inflated with compressed air, before the light train is fed through to quickly cure the material at about 138 degrees. A camera on the light train allows the operator to visually monitor the curing process to assure no voids in the repair.
Once complete, the plastic protective inner liner is removed leaving a glass surface that is permanently resistant to chemical agents and corrosion.
The liner fabric and installation is slightly more expensive than needle felt, within a range of about two to five percent, but the company is betting that the longer-term, greener nature of the Saertex-Liner will appeal to local governments and other clients. Among the initial clients are Carolinas Medical Center and UNC Charlotte.
Once demand reaches projections, Saertex projects its workforce will expand by 30 to 35 to meet higher production requirements. The company currently employs about 170 in Huntersville, it’s only U.S. presence.
