The Coated Pipe 3LPE and 2LPE

The three-layer polyethylene (3LPE) coating anti-corrosion steel pipe and the two-layer polyethylene (2LPE) coating anti-corrosion steel pipe both belong to the anti-corrosion steel pipe. The biggest difference between them lies in that the former one has three layers while the latter two layers.
 
The 3LPE coating and the 2LPE coating share the common points that they are suitable for the same pipes whose diameters are usually between Φ60 and Φ1420, and both of them can be applied to the petroleum industry and the natural gas industry.
 
The 3LPE coating
The structure of the 3LPE coating for pipeline is listed as follows.
The first layer, the fusion bonded epoxy (FBE), thicker than 100um
The second layer, the adhesion agent (AD) with the thickness between 170um and 250um
The third layer, the polyethylene (PE) between 2.5mm and 3.7mm

These three kinds of materials integrate into an entity firmly combined with the steel pipe to form an excellent coating. The coated pipe 3LPE has the characteristics of high mechanical strength, wear, corrosion, heat and cold resistance. It can be used for the media with the temperature of 150℃ as well as conditions with the low temperatures. Therefore, the 3LPE coating is the ideal outside protective layer for the pipes buried. According to the authoritative testing, the service lives of the buried pipes with 3LPE anti-corrosion coating can be up to 50 years.
 
The 2LPE coating
The structure of the 2LPE coating for pipeline: the first layer, the adhesion agent (AD); the second layer, the polyethylene (PE). The two materials mix with each other, and the thickness of each layer is the same as the 3LPE coating's.
 
The differences between the 3LPE coating and the 2LPE coating
From what has been talked above, we can easily draw the conclusion that the 3LPE coating has the fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) while the 2LPE does not. The fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) has the advantages of the good corrosion resistance and the excellent mechanical property. Although the fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) has strict requirements on the surface treatment of the coating, poor climate resistance and high water absorption rate, it makes the 3LPE coating applicable to the offshore and buried pipes, and the thickness of the 3LPE coating is usually between 0.3mm and 0.5mm.

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