Stefania Fontanella

upstart_minifontanellaSewer systems are one of the oldest infrastructures within cities. Time and environment strongly affect their durability, as the attitude to endure attacks by aggressive agents of different nature, while maintaining the mechanical and functional characteristics unaltered. One of the causes of their rapid degradation is the formation of sulfuric acid in the pipes that derives from sulfidric acid released by bacterial action on the waste water.
The INGESS (Innovative Geopolymeric Sewer System) pipes aim to overcome the issues that currently affect sewage systems providing pipes made of geopolymeric innovative materials having good mechanical resistance and a low specific weight. Another advantage of INGESS pipes is the excellent resistance to acidic and corrosive substances that characterize geopolymeric materials. Such aspect represents a remarkable profit compared to pipes made with traditional concrete. Innovative contents of INGESS pipes are closely related to the nature of the employed materials since they are environmentally friendly, low cost and highly performing materials. Geopolymer is an amorphous aluminium silicate material, which consolidates at temperatures below 80°C, developing excellent mechanical performances.
Such materials are obtained from industrial wastes such as fly ash or granulate blast furnace, which are treated with alkaline activating solutions. The use of waste materials results in considerable economic convenience and in a low environmental impact of the overall production cycle. The result is a material with excellent chemical and physical properties (high mechanical strength, good resistance to acidic and corrosive substances and to high temperatures).
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