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Progress on Ethanol Pipeline Moves Forward but Slowly
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Morgan
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One major disadvantage with ethanol is distributing it through pipelines. Due to its high oxygen content, ethanol has been found to cause corrosion of conventional pipes that are being used to transport oil and gasoline. Moreover, ethanol can absorb impurities and water that are in the pipeline.
But it seems that demand for ethanol has grown to such an extent that it is becoming feasible to consider a dedicated pipeline network.
It won't be cheap, though. People in the know say that if we were to dedicate a pipeline for the use of ethanol only, we would have to invest about $1 million per mile in its construction.
A Houston-based company, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, will be testing the transportation of ethanol through its underground pipeline that has a length of 105 miles. Running from the city ofTampa, Florida to Orlando, about 8,000 barrels of ethanol will be pushed through the pipeline. If the test is successful, then the company is expected to transport ethanol on a commercial scale through the pipeline by the end of this year.
Teppco Partners of Houston, Texas has been studying the impact of ethanol on pipelines. After transporting 273,000 gallons or 6,500 barrels of ethanol through a pipeline that runs from Indianapolis, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois, the study showed that colorless ethanol turned dark amber because it absorbed the impurities in the pipeline. So the fuel had to be filtered before use.
Finally, the Federal Office of Pipeline Safety is studying pipelines in Brazil which transport ethanol made from sugar.
The importance of these studies cannot be underestimated. Reports say that there are 160 ethanol refineries in the country and 51 more are being constructed. And domestic production of ethanol will be 9.3 billion gallons this year. Six billion five hundred million gallons were produced in 2007.
Our take? While these are all great steps, it will be years before ethanol is available at every corner gas station. And until it does, E85 will continue to be the niche market it is.
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