All aboard

16th January, 2008

At present, transporting biofuels, particularly ethanol, via pipeline is not completely viable. Ethanol is highly hydrophilic (attracts water) and potentially corrosive, so would require a designated infrastructure, something which may be possible in some regions, but is not yet implemented on a large scale. When it comes to deciding how to transport biofuels much of this depends on location, speed and cost. US National Biodiesel Board figures from mid-2007 show truck transportation costs at around $0.20 (€0.14) a gallon, whereas rail rates average $0.10 a gallon. Barges, however, are only one fifth of the cost of truck transportation at approximately $0.04 a gallon.

Staying on track

Rail transportation is one of the simplest methods of moving biofuels and, due to the large amount of product which can be carried, is also one of the most economical. Loads of ethanol have nearly tripled in the US since 2001 to approximately 106,000 rail carloads in 2006. This is forecast to escalate to at least 140,000 in 2007, according to the Association of American Railroads. Each tank car has a capacity of 30,000 gallons.

‘The rail opportunity is immense and more efficient than other methods of transport,’ says Dan Sabin, Iowa Northern Railway’s (INR) president. In June 2006 INR started transporting its first ethanol tank cars out of the new Hawkeye Renewables plant in Fairbank, Iowa. In August 2008 its plant in Butler County will be on INR’s line with a combined capacity of over 250 million gallons produced a year. INR is also a partner in developing Manly Terminal (a first of its kind truck to rail ethanol facility) to facilitate the transportation of ethanol. This provides the ability to deliver biofuels anywhere in the US without having to pay several switching fees.

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