Pipeline

An elevated section of the Alaska Pipeline.

Pipeline transport is a transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquid and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air have also been used.

As for gases and liquids, any chemically stable substance can be sent through a pipeline. Therefore sewage, slurry, water, or even beer pipelines exist; but arguably the most important are those transporting oil and natural gas. Often these pipelines are inspected and cleaned using pipeline inspection gauges ("pigs"). Pipeline cleaners are also known as "Go-devils" [1]

Oil and natural gas pipelines

A Pig launcher/receiver, belonging to the natural gas pipeline in Switzerland.

There is some argument as to when the first real oil pipeline was constructed. Some say pipeline transport was pioneered by Vladimir Shukhov and the Branobel company in the late 19th century. Others say oil pipelines originated when the Oil Transport Association first constructed a 2-inch wrought iron pipeline over a 6-mile track from an oil field to Pennsylvania to a rail road station in Oil Creek, in the 1860s. No matter, piplines are generally the most economical way to transport large quantities of oil or natural gas over land. Compared to railroad, they have lower cost per unit and also higher capacity. Although pipelines can be built even under the sea, that process is both economically and technically very demanding, so the majority of oil at sea is transported by tanker ships.

Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes with inner diameter from 30 to 120 cm (about 12 to 47 inches). Where possible, they are built above the surface. However, in more developed, urban, environmentally sensitive or potentially dangerous areas they are buried underground at a typical depth of about 1.3 - 1.6 metres (about 3 feet). The oil is kept in motion by a system of pump stations built along the pipeline and usually flows at speed of about 1 to 6 m/s. Multi-product pipelines are used to transport two or more different products in sequence in the same pipeline. Usually in multi-product pipelines there is no physical separation between the different products. Some mixing of adjacent products occurs, producing interface. This interface is removed from the pipeline at receiving facilities and segregated to prevent contamination.

Crude oil contains varying amounts of wax, or paraffin, and in colder climates wax buildup may occur within a pipeline. To clear wax deposition, mechanical pigs may be sent along the line periodically.

For natural gas, smaller feeder lines are used to distribute the fuel to homes and businesses downstream of larger transportation pipelines, similarly constructed of carbon steel and varying in size from 12 inches in diameter to 48 inches in diameter. The gas is pressurized by compressor stations spaced approximately every 70–100 miles and is odorless unless mixed with a mercaptan odorant where identified by the proper regulating body.

In the U.S. pipelines are regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA); offshore pipelines are regulated by the Minerals Management Service (MMS). In Canada pipelines are regulated by either the provincial regulators or, if they cross provincial boundaries or the Canada/US border, by the National Energy Board (NEB). Government regulations in Canada and the United States require that buried fuel pipelines must be protected from corrosion. Often, the most economical method of corrosion control is by use of pipeline coating in conjunction with cathodic protection and technology to monitor the pipeline.

Accidents

Pipelines conveying flammable or explosive material such as natural gas or oil pose special safety concerns.

For a more complete list see Pipeline accidents

• June 4, 1989 - sparks from two passing trains detonated gas leaking from an LPG pipeline near Ufa, Russia. Up to 645 people were reported killed.
• October 17, 1998 - at Jesse in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, a petroleum pipeline exploded killing about 1,200 villagers, some of whom were scavenging gasoline - the worst of several similar incidents in this country.
• June 10, 1999 - a pipeline rupture in a Bellingham, Washington park led to the release of 277,200 gallons of gasoline. The gasoline was ignited, causing an explosion that killed two children and one adult.
• August 19, 2000 - natural gas pipeline rupture and fire near Carlsbad, New Mexico this explosion and fire killed 12 members of the same family. The cause was due to severe internal corrosion of the pipeline.
• July 30, 2004 - a major natural gas pipeline exploded in Ghislenghien, Belgium near Ath (thirty kilometres southwest of Brussels), killing at least 23 people and leaving 122 wounded, some critically. (CNN) (Expatica)
• May 12, 2006 - an oil pipeline ruptured outside Lagos, Nigeria. Up to 200 people may have been killed. See Nigeria oil blast.

Some oil/gas pipelines

• Alashankou-Dushanzi Crude Oil Pipeline
• Alaskan Natural Gas Pipeline (planned)
• Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
• Baltic Gas Interconnector- Germany, Denmark and Sweden
• Blue Stream pipeline
• Chad-Cameroon pipeline
• Druzhba pipeline
• Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (planned)
• Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline (planned)
• Iran-Armenia Natural Gas Pipeline
• Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline (planned)
• Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline
• Lakehead Pipeline
• Langeled Pipeline
• Minnesota Pipeline
• Nabucco Pipeline (planned)
• Nord Stream (North European Gas Pipeline) (planned)
• Odessa-Brody pipeline
• Peninsula Gas Pipeline
• South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline)
• Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (planned)
• Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
• Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (planned)
• Trans-Israel pipeline
• Trans-Caribbean pipeline (planned)
• West-East Gas Pipeline
• HBJ Pipeline(India)
• Kabrai-Dhanbad Cutter Pipeline

Map of pipelines in Europe: [2]

Some oil/gas pipeline companies

• Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
• Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry
• Sui Northern Gas Pipelines
• Koch Pipeline Company (a subsidiary of Koch Industries)
• Schuck Company Germany - Equipment for Gas and Oil Transportation
• TransCanada Corp.
• Crosstex Energy Inc.
• Enbridge Inc.
• Gazprom
• BOTAS
• Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation
• Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company
• Trunkline Gas Company
• Transwestern Pipeline
• Florida Gas Transmission
• Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline
• Algonquin Gas Pipeline
• Northern Border Pipeline
• Great Lakes Transmission
• Northern Natural Gas Company
• Godda-Palamu enterprises
• Sonatrach
• Techint Engineering & Construction
• Eni Gas
• Surerus Pipeline Inc.
• CDP Networks Pty Ltd

Biobutanol

• Biobutanol can be transported using existing pipelines.

Pipelines for other liquids

Water pipelines

The Los Angeles Aqueduct in Antelope Valley.

Main article: Aqueduct

Two millennia ago the ancient Romans made use of large aqueducts to transport water from higher altitudes by building the aqueducts in graduated segments that allowed gravity to simply push the rushing water along until it reached its intended destination. Hundreds of these were built throughout Europe and elsewhere, and along with flour mills were considered the lifeline of the Roman Empire. The ancient Chinese also made use of channels and pipe systems for public works. The infamous Han Dynasty court eunuch Zhang Rang (d. 189 AD) once ordered the engineer Bi Lan to construct a series of square-pallet chain pumps outside the capital city of Luoyang. These chain pumps serviced the imperial palaces and living quarters of the capital city as the water lifted by the chain pumps were brought in by a stoneware pipe system.

Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills, or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation, pollution, or environmental impact.

The 530km(360 mile) Goldfields Water Supply Scheme in Western Australia using 760mm(30inch) and completed in 1903 was the largest water supply scheme of its time.

Example significant water pipelines in South Australia are the Morgan-Whyalla (completed 1944) and Mannum-Adelaide [3] (completed 1955) pipelines.

There are two Los Angeles, California aqueducts, the First Los Angeles Aqueduct (completed 1913) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct (completed 1970) which also include extensive use of pipelines.

Beverage pipelines

Brine pipelines

The town of Hallstatt in Austria claims to contain "the oldest industrial pipeline in the world", dating back to 1595. It was constructed from 13,000 trunks to transport the saline solution for 40 kilometers from Hallstatt to Ebensee.

Beer pipelines

Bars in the Veltins-Arena, a major football ground in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, are interconnected by a 5 km long beer pipeline. It is the favourite method for distributing beer in such large stadiums, because the bars have to overcome big differences between demands during various stages of a match; this allows them to be supplied by a central tank.

Pipelines as targets

Pipelines can be the target of vandalism, sabotage, or even terrorist attacks. In war, pipelines are often the target of military attacks, as destruction of pipelines can seriously disrupt enemy logistics. Leaky tubes can cause mass floods in places that have been affected around the globe that are short of water. Such as the Tehran incident

See also

• Hydrostatic test
• List of North American natural gas pipelines
• Megaprojects
• Plastic Pressure Pipe Systems
• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• Pipeline inspection gauge
• Pipeline Plots (alleged plots related to oil)
• Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes
• Russia-Ukraine gas dispute
• Slurry pipeline
• Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act

References

Oil and Gas Pipelines in NonTechnical Language, T. Miesner and W. Leffler, PennWell Corporation, 2006. Purchase from this link

[4]

External links

• Pneumatic Conveying Design
• Westminster International Pipeline Protection Systems