Ethanol test-shipped in gasoline pipeline

HOUSTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A major U.S. pipeline operator says it successfully test-shipped ethanol over a standard gasoline pipeline in a breakthrough in ethanol development.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said it was finalizing modifications to its 16-inch line between Tampa and Orlando and would be ready to ship ethanol for its customers in mid-November.

The inability to move ethanol through current fuel pipelines has been a major hurdle for the U.S. gasoline market. Ethanol has chemical properties that attract water that can contaminate the gasoline that is shipped through the same line.

As a result, ethanol must currently be moved by truck, barge or train and mixed with gasoline at the rack just before it is trucked to retail gas stations.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said in a written statement that the prospect of moving large batches of ethanol along multi-product pipelines would make renewable fuels more attractive.

"Last week in a speech … I called for a national goal to make competitively priced biofuels available to every motorist in America," said Lugar. "Demonstrating that ethanol can be transported by pipeline is an important step in reaching this goal."