Posted Sept. 13, 2007, at 1:33 p.m. CDT

The Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) announced Wednesday an expansion of ongoing research and development in an effort to overcome technical barriers to pipeline transportation of fuel ethanol. APOL President Shirley Neff said the expansion in research and development has the support of the U.S. DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

One project being expedited by the new focus on ethanol research and development is testing the feasibility of transporting ethanol blends in existing pipeline infrastructure without significant modification. The low-level blends with gasoline will be tested to see if E10, E15 or E20 can be transported without causing stress corrosion cracking in the pipeline—one of the bigger hurdles associated with fuel ethanol. Initial test results are expected within 12 to 18 months.

Another project affected by Wednesday's announcement is the continuation of a previous study to determine the environmental and stress conditions under which stress corrosion cracking can be expected. In addition to the determination of factors causing the cracking, the project will focus on developing and implementing strategies for mitigating the problem.

The third part of the research project will focus on new pipelines, including changes in the design of new pipelines to minimize integrity threats from transporting fuel grade and neat ethanol.

More information about AOPL and oil pipelines can be found at www.aopl.org.