Module 3:
Transportation and Transfer of
Ethanol-Blended Fuels
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Objective
• Upon completion of this
module, participants will
be able to describe how
ethanol-blended fuels are
transported & transferred
as well as 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
• Important to recognize proper placarding &
marking of ethanol-blended fuels
• Steps taken to ensure incidents managed
effectively
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From Field to Your Vehicle
4
Ethanol Transport Placards and
Markings
• Identifying the product
through use of DOT
placards
• Ethanol-blended fuels &
gasoline transported in
various types of containers
–
–
–
–
Tank trucks
Rail cars
Barges
Pipelines
Copyright ERG
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Ethanol Transport Placards and
Markings
• DOT:
– Classifies according to
primary danger
– Assigns standardized
symbols to identify
chemical classes
• Ethanol & ethanol-blended
fuels are flammable liquids
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Copyright ERG
Ethanol Transport Placards and
Markings
• Flammable placards:
– E10 & lower ethanol concentrations
• UN 1203 (1% - 10% ethanol)
– E85
• UN 3475 (11% - 94% ethanol)
– Denatured fuel ethanol
• UN 1987, NA 1987 (95% - 99%
ethanol)
– E100
• UN 1170 (100% ethanol)
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Copyright ERG
Emergency Response Guide
Fire Information: Large fire
water spray, fog or alcoholresistant foam.
Do not use straight streams.
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Transportation of Ethanol Placards
Ethanol Proper Shipping Names
Ethanol Concentration
Preferred Proper Shipping Name
E1 to E10
Gasoline (UN 1203)
E11 to E94
Ethanol & Gasoline mixture
(UN 3475)
E95 to E99
Denatured alcohol (NA 1987) or
Alcohols n.o.s. (UN 1987)
E100
Ethanol (UN 1170) or
Ethyl alcohol (UN 1170)
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Facility Marking System
• Fixed facilities that store and distribute EBF
should use the following:
– NFPA 704 marking system (known as the Fire
Diamond) uses:
• Colors
• Numbers (0 - 4, ascending hazard)
• Special symbols
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NFPA 704 for Ethanol
• NFPA 704 Rating
– Health - 1
– Flammability - 3
– Reactivity - 0
Copyright 2008, TEEX/ESTI
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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
• Denatured fuel ethanol is a hazardous material
& transported by rail every day
• Some oil refineries now shipping fuel fully
blended
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Transportation of Ethanol
via Highway
• MC306/DOT406:
– Dual axle
– Capacity
• 6,000 – 9,500 gallons
– Shell material
• Aluminum
– 1 - 7 compartments
Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission
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Transportation of Ethanol
via Highway
• Cargo tank trucks placarded & marked similar to
other products
• Pressure & vacuum relief devices function the
same as currently found on gasoline-style
transport tankers
• Bottom loaded & unloaded
• Vapor recovery system equipped
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Transportation of Ethanol via
Highway
• Safety devices:
– Emergency shutoffs
– Break away valves
• Sheer protection
– Pressure relief devices
– Overfill protection
– Collision protection
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Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
• Denatured fuel ethanol is transported safely
every day by rail
• Various routes of ethanol transport are utilized
– Production site to transloading facilities:
• Rail transport to fixed facility (terminal)
• Rail transport directly to truck
• Rail transport directly to pipeline
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Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
• Most common rail car
–
–
–
–
DOT111A100W1
General service
tank car (non
pressure)
Approximately
30,000 - 34,000
gallon capacity
No thermal
protection
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Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
• Unit train
– Consists of 80 - 100
rail cars
– Single destination
point
– Stored in or near
terminals or
transloading facilities
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Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
• Placards & shipping papers example:
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Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
• Rail tank cars placarded & marked similar to
highway transport
• Pressure & vacuum relief devices function the
same as currently found on gasoline-style
transport tankers
• Bottom loaded & unloaded
• Top loaded from loading rack using a stinger
pipe with vapor flap & recovery system
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Transportation and Placarding
• Largest volume of denatured fuel ethanol
transported by rail
– Second is truck, then barge
– Very small amounts are transported by pipeline
• Storage terminals with no access to rail receive
product by truck or barge
– Tank truck from rail transloading facilities or direct
from producer
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Truck Loading Operation
Terminal loading rack
Transloading facility
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Additional Resources
• TRANSCAER:
– Voluntary effort
– Members
– Resources available at www.transcaer.com
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Summary
• Variety of sources for information available for
identifying ethanol:
– Markings & DOT placards
– NFPA 704 placards
• Denatured fuel ethanol will be found most
often in:
–
–
–
–
Highway cargo tank trucks
Railroad tank cars
Barges
Pipelines
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Activity 3.1:
Ethanol Product Identification
• Purpose:
– To allow participants to determine the hazards
associated with an ethanol emergency.
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