China's first on-site test of batch transportation of methanol via long-distance refined oil pipelines was successfully completed on Monday, marking a critical leap from theoretical research to engineering validation for the technology, said China Oil and Gas Piping Network Corporation (PipeChina).
The test, launched in northwest China's Gansu Province after systematic pipeline suitability evaluations and safety retrofits at two stations, successfully delivered a total of 1,000 cubic meters of fuel methanol in two separate batches through in-service product oil pipelines to a tank farm in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
"This batch transportation test involved methanol and gasoline, with the mixed segment of the two products kept within one kilometer -- a clear indication that large-scale methanol pipeline transport is well within reach. After delivery, we completed the separation and stored them in their respective tanks, bringing this industrial-scale test to a full close," said Wang Yubin, a first-class engineer at the PipeChina Institute of Science and Technology.
During the test, engineers carried out two distinct testing regimes, covering high- and low-flow rates, as well as start-up and shutdown procedures. They were designed to thoroughly examine the process adaptability of batch transportation of methanol through product oil pipelines under complex terrain and diverse operating conditions. The result delivered a comprehensive technical solution and an engineering demonstration for future cross-regional, large-scale methanol transport.
"From theoretical modeling, lab work and loop pilot-scale test, to this successful field demonstration, we have effectively proven the technical feasibility of sequential methanol transportation via refined oil pipelines in terms of process design, pipe materials, and safety control. This gives us a solid engineering reference for moving toward routine, large-scale methanol transportation via refined oil pipelines, and lays the technological groundwork for a future 'west-to-east methanol pipeline' at scale," said Zhang Duihong, president of the PipeChina Institute of Science and Technology.
China successfully tests batch transportation of methanol via refined oil pipelines
