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Effects of Chlorinated Water on Polymeric Water Distribution Systems
By Arthur L. Backman
TempRite® Engineered Polymers
Chlorine has been a major part of municipal water treatment for close
to 100 years. It has been so effective in eliminating waterborne diseases
such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery that LIFE magazine named water
chlorination as “probably the most significant public health advance of
the millennium.” Indeed, today it remains the disinfectant of choice,
responsible for the delivery of safe, clean drinking water to our cities,
workplaces and family homes every day.
But while chlorine is valued for its high germicidal potency, its long
lasting residual effect throughout entire water distribution systems can
also be a cause for concern with regard to the negative influence chlorine
can have on some plastic piping materials.
This is because residual chlorine can have an oxidizing effect in water
systems, especially those systems that operate at elevated temperatures.
This effect can dramatically shorten the life of piping made of materials
susceptible to oxidization.
FlowGuard Gold® and Corzan® CPVC piping systems, however, have
never demonstrated a performance deficiency relative to chlorinated
water or any other types of water disinfectants.
Chlorine intolerance
The Dip Tube Issue
In the mid 1990’s, polypropylene pipe was used in typical non-pressure
water heater applications.
Figure 1
The hot water tanks utilized polypropylene pipe to introduce cold water
into a heater at the bottom of the tank (Figure 1). This meant that the
pipe was submerged in the hot water tank and was therefore exposed to
elevated temperatures in the presence of chlorinated water.
Predictably, the polypropylene tube degraded into powder, causing
further complications by plugging up components like valves and
pressure relief safety devices. Following a major recall, inadequately
stabilized polypropylene tubes have not been used under these
conditions ever since.
Effects of hypochlorous acid attack
Jana Labs and Bodycote Polymer AB are world leading pipe testing
laboratories. They have both studied the effects of circulating chlorinated
water within plastic piping systems. Both have specialized chlorine
testing equipment in which chlorinated water is circulated for thousands
of hours at various temperatures and chlorine concentrations.
A considerable amount of data has been generated by both labs which
demonstrate that small quantities of residual chlorine, which presents
itself as hypochlorous acid, exhibit a strong oxidizing effect on polyolefin
piping, resulting in a significant reduction of their expected lifetime.
The fact that chlorinated water reduces the service life of polyolefin
products is well recognized in the United States, where disinfection of the
water supply via chlorination is widely used. ASTM F-2023-04 and the
NSF P-171 protocol have been utilized to measure the effect of chlorine
on these piping systems.
Chlorine resistance testing in polyolefins
Samples of polyolefin pipes were tested in general accordance with
NSF P-171, Protocol for Chlorine Resistance of Plastic Piping Materials
and ASTM F-2023-04, Test Method for Evaluating the Oxidative
Resistance of PEX Tubing and Systems to Hot Chlorinated Water at Jana
Labs. The results of this testing are demonstrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4.
Figure 2, Polypropylene manufacturer A Figure 4, Polybutylene

Before After

Before After

Before After

Before After

Figure 3, Polypropylene manufacturer B

Before After

Significant erosion of the pipe wall (up to 50% at 7,000 hours) was seen
after testing the polyolefin pipes using a low water flowrate (~0.1 gpm).
This phenomenon is similar to that seen in polypropylene dip tubes.

Chlorine resistance testing in CPVC

Figure 5 illustrates the effect of chlorinated water on a potable water
CPVC plumbing system installed in Baltimore, Maryland, after 23 years
of service. There is no decrease in the pipe wall thickness. Additional
testing of the pipe sample indicated that there was no decrease in the long
term hydrostatic performance of the CPVC pipe.
Before After
Figure 6 illustrates the effects of extremely aggressive water conditions
(>1,000 ppm of chlorine at 140˚ F) on CPVC after seven years of service.
Again, there is no evidence of wall erosion under these aggressive
conditions – which are much more aggressive than typical potable
water conditions.
Figure 5, CPVC

New

It is this chain structure that gives the plastic material its inherent strength.

The various polyolefins and vinyls are distinguished from one another
and gain their individual properties depending on what other atoms are
attached to the base carbon chain.

Exposed
In CPVC, approximately 40% of the bonding sites on the carbon chain
are filled with strategically placed chlorine atoms, the remaining 60% are
filled with hydrogen.
Figure 6, CPVC

New

When chlorine is added to water for disinfection, it transforms to

hypochlorous acid. This is a strong oxidizer, which is capable of
breaking the carbon-to-carbon bonds of the polymer chain, effectively
disintegrating it.

In CPVC, the chlorine atoms surrounding the carbon chain are large
Exposed
atoms which protect the chain from attack by the hypochlorous acid in
the water.

Exposure to UV Hypochlorous acid attack on CPVC

UV has been shown to further affect the oxidative stability of Access to the CPVC carbon chain is restricted by the chlorine atoms on
susceptible polyolefin products such as polypropylene, PEX (crosslinked the molecule.
polyethylene) and polybutylene. UV light generates reactive species
which are neutralized by antioxidant stabilizers added to these pipe
formulations. Antioxidant stabilizers also protect the pipe from oxidative
attack from the disinfectants. As a result of UV exposure, fewer
antioxidant stabilizers will be available to provide for the long term
performance of the pipe.

Basic polymer chemistry to explain…

A polymer is a molecule formed by a long chain of atoms, often many
thousands of atoms long. Some polymers, such a polyurethane or
nylon, incorporate nitrogen or oxygen atoms along with carbon atoms
into their chain. However, vinyls such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride and Any chlorine that actually reaches the backbone simply chlorinates it
CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) as well as polyolefins such as further. The effect is the same as the resin chlorination process.
polypropylene, have only carbon in their chains.
In contrast, the hydrogen atoms surrounding the carbon chain of In Conclusion:
polyolefins, such as polypropylene, crosslinked polyethylene and Concerns regarding the negative influence that municipal water
polybutylene, are small atoms incapable of protecting the chain from disinfectant chemicals can have on certain plastic piping materials are
attack by the hypochlorous acid in the water. in fact well founded.

Polypropylene has a short, one-carbon branch on every other carbon While chlorine is the prevalent method to sanitize our water supply, its
atom in the chain and all other bonding sites are filled with hydrogen. use as a disinfectant can shorten the long-term performance of polyolefin
pipe materials.

On the other hand, exposure of FlowGuard Gold and Corzan CPVC

piping systems to very aggressive oxidizing water conditions has no
impact on the piping system’s integrity or performance, delivering many
decades of trouble-free service.

Polypropylene – Bonds are subsequently broken at tertiary carbon sites.

Arthur L. Backman is a Technical Manager for the TempRite® Engineered Polymers group at The Lubrizol Corporation. During his 19 years with TempRite
Engineered Polymers, he has developed several new commercial products and has been granted more than 15 United States Patents in the area of CPVC
and PEX processes, formulations and products. He received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University, as well as his M.S.
and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
TempRite,® FlowGuard Gold® and Corzan® are registered trademarks of The Lubrizol Corporation. FGGTECHP