Dakotas to Midwest to East Coast Ethanol Pipeline In The Works

[HoosierRon]

Companies Assessing $3B Dedicated Ethanol Pipeline System

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. and Buckeye Partners, L.P. have begun a joint assessment to determine the feasibility of constructing a dedicated $3-billion ethanol pipeline system to deliver fuel ethanol from the Midwest to distribution terminals in the northeastern United States.

The proposed pipeline could have the capacity to supply more than 10 million gallons of ethanol per day, enough to meet the needs of millions of northeastern motorists who purchase 10% ethanol blended gasoline or higher ethanol blends such as E85.

The pipeline would gather ethanol from production facilities in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and South Dakota to serve terminals in major markets such as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the New York harbor. The project, which preliminarily has been estimated to cost in excess of $3 billion, would span approximately 1,700 miles and would take several years to complete.

[TheGeneral]

Something needs to supplement this $3.16 a gallon gas in suburban chicago it's only feb.

[Snafu_SS]

There is now ONE whole station in all of SOKY that I have found that uses an E10 blend.

With as many Chevy trucks and other E85 vehicles all across the state...It's about time it starts coming here!

I suppose this will help the price of E85 become more competitive since they won't have to transport it via truck now.

[agman25]

Ambitious project. Wonder how they will deal with water contamination. With a pipeline that size you could send 80 proof vodka on one end and get smirnoff ice on the other. Why not just move the corn. Build the refinery on the east coast.

[LARSONEM]

This is a huge infastructure investment. My goodness, with ethanol doesn't it take something like 1 unit of energy to make 1.3 units of ethanol. Then there are water consumption and land use issues. This just doesn't make sense to me for a long term solution to our energy problems. We need to be investing in hydrogen and other alternative energy sources.

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by LARSONEM

This is a huge infastructure investment. My goodness, with ethanol doesn't it take something like 1 unit of energy to make 1.3 units of ethanol. Then there are water consumption and land use issues. This just doesn't make sense to me for a long term solution to our energy problems. We need to be investing in hydrogen and other alternative energy sources.

We are investing in other alternative energy sources. But there is no single silver bullet. We need to invest in every alternative energy source.

Yes, it takes one unit of energy to make 1.3 units of ethanol energy. But there is not an "energy" shortage in America right now. There is an oil shortage. And it only is going to get much worse. So when you ask how much oil energy does it take to make ethanol from corn, the picture is quite different. You get 6.34 units of ethanol energy from each unit of oil energy you invest in the process.

[packardlust]

Originally Posted by agman25

Ambitious project. Wonder how they will deal with water contamination. With a pipeline that size you could send 80 proof vodka on one end and get smirnoff ice on the other. Why not just move the corn. Build the refinery on the east coast.

The question is how much water non-anhydrous 190 proof alcohol wold pick up in the pipeline. A possible solution to alcohol's affinity to water and pipeline shipping would be to ship 190 proof alcohol through the pipeline, and remove the last 5% water at the end depot with the mole sieve. Your distillation columns are still at the refinery, and just the mole sieves that really make the ethanol anhydrous would be very near the point of distribution.

[HoosierRon]

I know it would cost more, but is it really impossible to make a waterproof pipeline?

[gardnet1]

Until the celluosic ethanol is fully proven, this is a huge risk investment wise. Corn based ethonal is just not a sustainable venture, especially without the subsidies.

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by agman25

Ambitious project. Wonder how they will deal with water contamination. With a pipeline that size you could send 80 proof vodka on one end and get smirnoff ice on the other. Why not just move the corn. Build the refinery on the east coast.

A year or so ago it was reported that they WERE going to build an Ethanol plant across from the State Prison I work at. I haven't heard anything since, and there certainly isn't any work going on.

[DemonKnightDK]

isn't butanol a better option than ethanol? from what I've read it is a lot more similar to gasoline than ethanol is, doesn't require a change to the automobiles, or any other part of the infrastructure, and doesn't take a big a hit in the MPG department as E85 does...

[HoosierRon]

Originally Posted by DemonKnightDK

isn't butanol a better option than ethanol? from what I've read it is a lot more similar to gasoline than ethanol is, doesn't require a change to the automobiles, or any other part of the infrastructure, and doesn't take a big a hit in the MPG department as E85 does...

Everything you say is correct, but it costs a lot more to make.

[plane]

Just wait until the teenagers figure out how to tap that puppy.
We'll have the biggest kegger in the history of mankind.
Hoosier Ron will be our honorary patron saint of the keg.

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

I know it would cost more, but is it really impossible to make a waterproof pipeline?

The ethanol wants the water... it will suck water out of the air... if it is exposed to air it will take on water.

[CaptainDan]

Originally Posted by EllwynX

A year or so ago it was reported that they WERE going to build an Ethanol plant across from the State Prison I work at. I haven't heard anything since, and there certainly isn't any work going on.

I can see it now. The prisoners are going to be hard at work digging tunnels. Not to escape from prison, but to break into the ethanol plant.