PRCI

Newsroom

July 24, 2007

PRCI to Undertake Two-pronged Effort on Ethanol

As part of a major initiative being undertaken jointly by the Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) to assess the opportunities and challenges in transporting ethanol by pipeline, PRCI will be undertaking a two-pronged research program to determine the safe operating parameters for that transportation.

By asking PRCI to take on this work, AOPL and API are seeking a consolidated effort that will attract outside funding (including in the first instance, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation) and enable leverage, efficiency, and coordination between the many companies who will be participating and for whom the research results are critical for assuring that the business case for ethanol transportation is sound from a technical and operating perspective.

As described below, this overall effort will be conducted in two distinct, but interrelated phases, focusing on stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In both cases, the work will be defined in part by existing PRCI projects approved in 2006 and 2007, and projects on the open 2008 ballot.

The first- or near-term phase of the effort will focus over the next 12 months on current blends and the connection between them and the initiation and growth of SCC. The project team has made some scope modifications to the current project (SCC-4-4) and, as modified, it has the goals of:

  • Identifying the blends that can be transported in existing systems with little or no modification, focusing on:
    • Determining the characteristics of blends that are critical in determining whether they are safe in pipelines, including water pickup, phase separation, materials effects, and solvent effects, and
    • Determining the effects of ethanol on other operational processes such as the use of DRA, transmix injection and reprocessing, and jet fuel filtering
  • Identifying which blends can be transported in existing systems with appreciable modifications (similar to the assessment involved in the issue of ultra-low sulfur diesel), along with the requisite changes.
  • Identifying which blends cannot be practically transported in existing systems but could be transported in specially designed new systems, both transmission and distribution

The work in the first phase will be carried out by CC Technologies, and will be funded in part by PHMSA under a special grant. However, even with this outside funding, additional funds for this work will be necessary.

The second phase—to be conducted over a 36-48 month period—would develop the necessary industry specifications and voluntary standards that would set the operating parameters for ethanol transportation, based on an understanding of the characteristics of both blended and pure (“neat”) ethanol and the system operating parameters and protections necessary to enable pipeline transportation. This work will be included in PRCI’s response, working with our contractors, to a recent Broad Agency Announcement solicitation issued by PHMSA. PRCI will support this work through cofunding and our peer-based program management capabilities.

In addition to conducting the work under the first phase, CC Technologies will also set up and conduct a workshop of all interested parties to craft a roadmap for the consolidated program comprised of both phases. Once planning for the workshop is completed, members and others interested in this work will be notified.

Return to the Newsroom Front Page

For More Information

Contact PRCI via (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).