Pipeline transport

Information about Pipeline transport

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

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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 . 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. Above ground, cathodic protection is not an option; the coating is the only external protection.

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

Some oil/gas pipelines

Map of pipelines in Europe: [2]

Some oil/gas pipeline companies

Leak Detection Systems

Since oil and gas pipelines represent one of the most important assets for the economic and social development of a country, it is necessary to build advanced applications to protect these assets as well as the environment and population that these pipelines run across.

Different types of technologies have been implemented, from walking the lines every so often up to satellite surveillance. However the most common technology to protect these lines from occasional leaks is know as Computational Pipeline Monitoring Systems or CPM. CPM takes information from the field related to pressure, flow and temperature to estimate the hydraulic behavior of the product being transported. Once the estimation is done, the results are compared to other field references to detect the presence of an anomaly or unexpected situation, which may be related to a leak incident. These CPM systems are the foundation to ensure the operational security of these pipelines.

Biobutanol

  • Biobutanol can be transported using existing pipelines.

Pipelines for other liquids

Water pipelines

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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.[1] 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.[1][2]

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.[3][4]

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.[5] It was constructed from 13,000 trunks to transport the saline solution for 40 kilometers from Hallstatt to Ebensee.[6]

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

References

1. ^ Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. Page 33.
2. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 345-346.
3. ^ Mephan Ferguson Australian Dictionary of Biography(online version)
4. ^ The Forrest family Dynasties, ABC. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
5. ^ Billie Ann Lopez. Hallstatt's White Gold - Salt (English). Retrieved on 2007-05-15.
6. ^ See the article Hallstatt for details and references.
Oil and Gas Pipelines in NonTechnical Language, T. Miesner and W. Leffler, PennWell Corporation, 2006. Purchase from this link [4]

External links

For structural pipe, see hollow structural section.
Pipe is a tube or hollow cylinder for the conveyance of fluid. The terms 'pipe' and 'tubing' are almost interchangeable.
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Pneumatic tubes, also known as capsule pipelines or Lamson tubes, are systems in which cylindrical containers are propelled through a network of tubes by compressed air or by vacuum. They are used for transporting physical objects.
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Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water, faeces, urine, laundry waste and other material which goes down drains and toilets from households and industry.
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slurry is, in general, a thick suspension of solids in a liquid and may be:
  • A mixture of water and cement to form concrete
  • A mixture of water, gelling agent, and oxidiers used as an explosive
  • A mixture of water and Bentonite used to make slurry walls

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Water is a common chemical substance that is essential to all known forms of life.[1] In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor.
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Beer is the world's oldest[1] and most popular[2][3] alcoholic beverage. It is produced by the fermentation of sugars derived from starch-based material — the most common being malted barley; however, wheat, corn, and rice are also widely
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Petroleum (Latin Petroleum derived from Greek πέτρα (Latin petra) - rock + έλαιον (Latin oleum) - oil) or crude oil
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gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as electricity. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must undergo extensive processing to remove almost all materials other than methane.
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A pipeline inspection gauge or pig in the pipeline industry is a tool that is sent down a pipeline and propelled by the pressure of the product in the pipeline itself. It is the chief device used in pigging.
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Vladimir Grigorievich Shukhov (Russian: Владимир Григорьевич Шухов), (August 28 [O.S.
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Branobel (short for Brothers Nobel) was the oil company set up by Ludvig and Robert Nobel in Baku, Azerbaijan. Founded in 1876 it was, during the late 19th century, one of the largest oil companies in the world.
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Petroleum (Latin Petroleum derived from Greek πέτρα (Latin petra) - rock + έλαιον (Latin oleum) - oil) or crude oil
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gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as electricity. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must undergo extensive processing to remove almost all materials other than methane.
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Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles specially designed to run along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates the international trading and economic growth in most countries.
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tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Petroleum tankers are a particular brand of tanker all their own.

Tankers can range in size of capacity from several hundred tons, which includes vessels for servicing small harbours and coastal settlements, to several
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Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.02% and 1.7 or 2.04% by weight (C:1000–10,8.67Fe), depending on grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese and
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Plastic is the general term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products. They are composed of organic condensation or addition polymers and may contain other substances to improve performance or economics.
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1 inch =
SI units
010−3 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
010−3 ft 010−3 yd


An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes,  
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1 foot =
SI units
0 m 0 mm
US customary / Imperial units
0 yd 0 in
A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′
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pump is a device used to move liquids or slurries. A pump moves liquids from lower pressure to higher pressure, and overcomes this difference in pressure by adding energy to the system (such as a water system).
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Paraffin is a common name for a group of alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2, where n is the number of carbon atoms. The simplest paraffin molecule is that of methane, CH4, a gas at room temperature.
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A pipeline inspection gauge or pig in the pipeline industry is a tool that is sent down a pipeline and propelled by the pressure of the product in the pipeline itself. It is the chief device used in pigging.
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In organic chemistry, a thiol is a compound that contains the functional group composed of a sulfur atom and a hydrogen atom (-SH). Being the sulfur analogue of an alcohol group (-OH), this functional group is referred to either as a thiol group or a
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Hazardous Materials Safety

The Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) is the federal safety authority for the transportation of hazardous materials by air, rail, highway and water.
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The purpose of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is to manage the mineral resources on the nation's Outer Continental Shelf in an environmentally sound and safe manner, and to collect, verify, and distribute, in a timely fashion,
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Corrosion is breaking down of essential properties in a material due to reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means a loss of an electron of metals reacting with water and oxygen.
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An industrial coating is a paint or coating defined by its protective, rather than its aesthetic properties, although it can provide both.
The most common use of industrial coatings is for corrosion control of steel or concrete.
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Cathodic protection (CP) is a technique to control the corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell.

It is a method used to protect metal structures from corrosion.
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worldwide view of the subject.
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The following is a list of pipeline accidents:


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