SUEZ is quietly celebrating 10 years of commercial operations of Ice Pigging™

Dec 2020

SUEZ is the world’s only supplier of Ice Pigging™, the unique process used to clean pipes of sediment, biofilm, contaminants and excess products.

The concept was developed at the University of Bristol as a means of quickly and effectively cleaning complex pipework in factories. Subsequently adopted by municipal water and sewage companies as a step change in pipe cleaning, Ice Pigging™ is now used across a wide range of industries including advanced engineering, defence, district heating and pharmaceutical. Commercial operations started in 2010 in the UK, expanding overseas to Asia, the Americas, Europe and Australia.

Since its creation, Ice Pigging™ has been the subject of much attention, including two patents and a string of innovation awards and to date it has been used to clean thousands of kilometres of pipe.

Nick Haskins has been involved with Ice Pigging™ from the beginning; “It’s an amazing process. The ice slurry is pumped into a pipe like a liquid but moves through the pipework like a solid plug, detaching contaminants and fouling from the pipe wall and carrying them out of the pipe. Over the last 10 years, we have consistently demonstrated how Ice Pigging™ is far more effective than traditional mains cleaning techniques. It’s great to look back at all the success and see the difference we have made for our clients and ultimately, drinking water customers.”

Phil Pettit, Business Development Manager, comments; “SUEZ Ice Pigging™ is unique. It looks simple and straightforward, but it is only made that way by the very knowledgeable team we have. Our collective knowledge and years of operational experience at our Bristol HQ helps to ensure great results, whatever the application or reason for cleaning.”