Module 3: Transportation and Transfer of Ethanol-Blended Fuels

Objective Upon the successful completion of this module, participants will be able to describe how ethanol-blended fuels are transported and transferred and where the most likely points for error in these actions will exist. 2

Introduction Essential to quickly & effectively identify presence of ethanol / ethanol-blended fuels at scene of incident Can be challenging because containers in which ethanol is transported not always clearly marked Steps taken to ensure incidents managed effectively 3

Transportation and Placarding Gasoline & ethanolblended fuels transported in same general types of containers & tanks MC-306 / DOT-406 Multiple sizes & compartment configurations Local transportation issues Copyright 2006, TEEX/ESTI 4

Standard MC-306 / DOT-406 Duel axle Capacity: 6,000 9,500 gallons Custom built 3/8 inch aluminum 1 7 compartments Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission 5

Heavy Duty MC-306 / DOT-406 Tri-axle Capacity: 9,500 15,000 gallons Custom built 1 7 compartments Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission 6

Michigan-Style MC-306 / DOT-406 Multiple axles Capacity: 13,800 gallons Custom built 5 compartments Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission 7

Truck and Pull MC-306 / DOT-406 Truck tank: Capacity: 4,000 6,000 gallons 1 4 compartments Trailer tank: Capacity: 4,000 8,500 gallons 1 5 compartments Custom built Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission 8

Military Refueler Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission Low profile Capacity: 5,000 gallons Single compartment Built to military specifications Air transportable Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission 9

Transportation and Placarding DOT: Classifies according to primary danger Assigns standardized symbols to identify classes Ethanol & ethanol-fuel blends are flammable liquids Copyright ERG 10

Transportation and Placarding Flammable tanker placards: Lower ethanol concentrations up to & including E-10 (E-01 to E-10) blended fuels: UN 1203 E-85 (E-11 to E-94) blended fuels: UN 3475 E-95, E-98 (E-95 to E-99) blended fuels: UN / NA 1987 E-100: UN 1170 Copyright ERG 11

Transportation and Placarding October 1, 2008: U.S. DOT, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued final rule creating a new proper shipping name & placard for ethanol-blended fuels with a percentage higher than 10% but lower than 95% (E-11 to E-94) 12

Ethanol Proper Shipping Names Ethanol Concentration Preferred Proper Shipping Name E-1 to E-10 Gasohol (UN 1203) or Gasoline (UN 1203) E-11 to E-94 Ethanol & gasoline mixture (UN 3475) E-95 to E-99 Denatured alcohol (NA 1987) or Alcohols n.o.s. (UN 1987) E-100 Ethanol (UN 1170) or Ethyl alcohol (UN 1170) 13

Transportation and Placarding April 22, 2009: EPA received a waiver to lift arbitrary regulatory cap on ethanol from a 10% blend of ethanol to a 15% blend of ethanol in our gas supply; must approve / disapprove by December 1, 2009 Current cap dates back to 1970s If approved, DOT-PHMSA will decide placarding; current debate is to placard pure hydrocarbon gasoline with UN 1203 & E-1 to E-94 ethanol-blended fuels with placard UN 3475 14

Transportation and Placarding Rail tanks identified similarly Pressure & vacuum relief devices same as currently found on gasoline-style transport tankers Bottom loaded & unloaded by standard 4-inch quick connect / direct connections 16

Transportation and Placarding Valving internal to tanks with breakaway piping & remote shut-off controls Vapor recovery systems same as currently found on roadway gasoline tankers 17

Transportation and Placarding Most fuel-grade ethanol (E-98, E-95) transported by rail: Some by waterway & very small amounts by pipeline Pipeline concern: corrosiveness ph between 5 & 6 (slightly corrosive) Storage depots with no access to rail receive it by road tankers: Trans-loading 21

Transportation and Placarding NFPA 704 diamond: Uses colors, numbers, & special symbols to indicate presence of hazardous materials Higher number = greater hazard 22

Transportation and Placarding NFPA 704 diamond: Health: Blue Flammability: Red Reactivity: Yellow Special: White (special notice) 24

Transportation and Placarding NFPA diamond for E-100, E-98, E-95, E-85, & E-10 (gasoline): 1: Blue health square: slight to moderate irritation 0: Reactivity yellow square 3: Flammability red square: high flammability with ignition likely under most conditions No commonly accepted special character (white) 25

Transportation and Placarding Most hazardous materials incidents occur during transportation & transfer operations Be aware of areas / routes where large shipments of ethanol & ethanol-blended fuels routinely pass Fuel-grade ethanol (E-98, E-95) now leading single hazardous material transported by rail Some refineries now shipping fuel fully blended 27

Transportation and Placarding Most of Midwest & other ethanol production facilities have access to rail sidings, many bulk storage fuel depots do not have rail sidings: Much of the fuel-grade ethanol is trans-loaded to tanker trucks for distribution to bulk storage facilities via highways 28

Transportation and Placarding Placards able to indicate high-concentration ethanol-blended fuels: Does not distinguish between gasoline & E-10 gasohol E-10 requires AR foam for emergency response 29

Transportation and Placarding TRANSCAER: Voluntary effort Founded by Union Pacific & Dow Chemical Members Resources may include: 30

Activity 3.1 Ethanol Spill Emergency Purpose: To allow participants to determine the hazards associated with an ethanol emergency. 31

Summary Variety of sources for information about chemicals involved in spill / fire incidents: MSDS UN numbers DOT placards NFPA 704 placards Fuel-grade ethanol (E-98, E-95) become leading hazardous material transported by rail: Transfer commonly occurs via highways 32