Benzene propagation during turbulent flow in PEHD water supply pipes

The results of laboratory and numerical studies of benzene propagation migrating from PEHD pipe to water in turbulent flow conditions have been presented. Laboratory studies were performed on 30 meter long closed-loop installation consisting of PEHD 80 32×3.0 mm polyethylene pipes during the 168 h of experiment. Measurements of benzene concentration in water were conducted by the gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) method. Numerical calculations of benzene propagation in water were performed with the Fluent, Ansys Inc. Our studies showed a clear increase of benzene concentration in water resulting from its migration to water from the pipe material. The developed numerical model was positively validated.