Chemical Processing Drainage

Applications · Commercial & Municipal

Trench drains for process floors, washdown zones, and containment areas — where the channel material has to survive the chemistry, not just the traffic.

The problem: the chemistry attacks the drain first

In a processing plant, the drain sits at the lowest point of the floor — which means it sees the highest, longest exposure to everything the floor sheds: caustic washdown solutions, acid rinses, solvents, and whatever gets spilled between them. Plain cast-in-place concrete channels etch, spall, and rebuild themselves into a maintenance line item; coated channels last only as long as the coating. The fix is choosing a channel body whose material stands up to your actual reagent list.

Routing matters as much as material. Process-area drainage typically cannot discharge to storm; runs need to collect to the plant's treatment or neutralization system per your discharge permit, and containment zones may need isolated trench runs of their own. Lay the drainage map out with your environmental engineer before the slab design is locked.

Material selection first, then load class

Polymer concrete, fiber-reinforced high-performance concrete, HDPE, and stainless steel each cover a different chemical envelope — and every manufacturer publishes a chemical-resistance chart. Always verify your specific chemicals, concentrations, and temperatures against that chart before specifying; we can pull the documentation for any line we quote.

Then rate the traffic. Drum trucks, forklifts, and tanker aprons put concentrated wheel loads on grates, so most process floors specify Class C (H-20) or Class D per our Load Class Recommendation Guide, while walk-only washdown zones can run lighter classes.

Recommended systems

ACO PowerDrain & KlassikDrain

Polymer concrete · stainless-edged KS variants · quote-only

Polymer concrete is the default channel body in chemical-duty specs: dense, very low absorption, and resistant to a wide range of process chemistries per ACO's published resistance data. PowerDrain carries the heavy wheel loads at tanker aprons and forklift routes; KlassikDrain covers general process and perimeter runs, with stainless-edged KS variants where washdown chemistry is aggressive at the edge rail.

BG Filcoten

Fiber-reinforced HPC · non-combustible · quote-only

Filcoten channels are mineral fiber-reinforced high-performance concrete: non-combustible, UV- and temperature-stable, and free of resin binders — a strong candidate where fire classification or sustainability requirements are part of the spec. The tec V100 covers standard 4" runs; see the Filcoten FAQs & resources for the full line.

NDS Dura-Slope

Pre-sloped HDPE · stocked online

HDPE handles a broad range of dilute chemistries and is the economical answer for secondary areas — utility corridors, exterior washdown, and lighter-duty process-adjacent floors. Verify compatibility against NDS's chemical-resistance data for anything beyond dilute duty; grate options run from pedestrian plastic to ductile iron.

Josam stainless steel and Pro Plus trench systems are also available on request for high-purity or corrosive-washdown areas — mention them when you request a quote and we'll price the line alongside the options above.

Don't forget the details that fail first

In chemical duty, the accessories are as exposed as the channel: grates, lockdowns, edge rails, end caps, and outlet fittings all sit in the same chemistry. Spec them in the same material conversation as the channel body — a resistant channel under a corroding grate is still a failed drain. Trash buckets and sediment baskets at outlets also earn their keep here, keeping solids out of runs that are unpleasant to open and clean.