Aluminum Irrigation Pipe – The Smart Choice for Green Irrigation
Commercial farmers and residential gardeners have many choices when it comes to irrigation supplies.
Most of those choices center around some type of thermoplastic pipe, and these plastics do have some strong advantages over older materials. However, as more and more businesses seek out “green” alternatives, thermoplastic resins have little to offer.
True, the materials can be recycled, but plastics are not eco-friendly. They originate as petroleum products and consumers are shying away from them – and from companies that use them.
What options are available to agricultural companies?
Prior to World War II, irrigation piping was constructed of cast iron, galvanized steel, or asbestos cement.
Copper plumbing was popular for drinking water, but was far too expensive to be used for irrigation. Galvanized steel pipe was cheap, but it corroded over time and lost strength. Cast iron piping would also rust, but this was only a surface phenomenon. It did not corrode and weaken like galvanized steel. It was, however, correspondingly more expensive.
Asbestos cement pipe, commonly called AC Pipe, was the best material available for irrigation pipe. It didn’t rust or corrode, it was lightweight, it was strong and it was easy to manufacture. There are thousands of miles of AC pipe still in place throughout the Midwest states today.
But things changed with the end of World War II.
Many technologies that were developed as part of the war made their way to private industries and into mainstream manufacturing. Thermoplastic resins were one of these technologies. PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipe literally took over the irrigation market in the mid 1960s. It was lightweight, did not corrode or rust, and was not as brittle as AC pipe. It is still extremely popular today, as are other plastic pipe materials, such as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE).
However, despite the light weight, corrosion resistance and relative strength of plastic pipe, it cannot escape the legacy of its origin; unlike aluminum irrigation pipe, plastics are manufactured from petrochemicals and produce hazardous materials as byproducts of the manufacturing process.
Aluminum irrigation pipe is a much “greener” choice.
Like petrochemicals, aluminum is ultimately a non-renewable resource; however, aluminum irrigation pipe can be obtained that is made from 100% recycled aluminum. No plastic pipe is made from 100% recycled materials.
Aluminum is also one of the premier “socially conscious” materials. Because it is so readily recycled, the use of aluminum allows for the participation of both skilled and non-skilled labor in the manufacturing work place. By purchasing aluminum irrigation pipe, agricultural companies are enabling unskilled workforce partners in the US and around the world to support their families.
Aluminum irrigation pipe is also a “greener” choice than using no pipe at all, although this assertion may at first seem counter-intuitive. Open-ditch irrigation is extremely common throughout many parts of the US and elsewhere, but it is also extremely wasteful. Water loss due to evaporation and soil absorption at non-crop sites is tremendous.
Aluminum pipe carries water efficiently along irrigation ditches and regularly spaced openings in the pipe allow for point irrigation where the crops are growing.
Aluminum pipe for irrigation is commonly sold in 30-foot lengths in diameters of 6, 8, 10 and 12 inches. There are numerous manufacturers, and online pricing is readily available.
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