1. Transportation and Transfer of Ethanol-Blended Fuels
Module 3:
Transportation and Transfer of Ethanol-Blended Fuels
Module Time: 30 minutes/45 minutes
Materials:
Activity 3.1
Emergency Response Considerations video – (Show the video segment from 7:05 to 9:47)

2. 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.
Enabling Objectives
1. List common modes of transportation for ethanol-blended fuels.
2. Describe the United Nations/Department of Transportation (UN/DOT) placards and markings that will allow responders to identify ethanol-blended fuel transports.
3. Identify national resources available to provide product and mitigation information.
4. Discuss the likelihood and potential locations of incidents involving ethanol-blended fuels.

3. 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
Show the video Emergency Response Considerations (7:05 to 9:47). This video was produced by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC).
Source: EERC. (2013). Emergency Response Considerations [Video].
Given that an increased percentage of all fuel transportation-related incidents are likely to involve ethanol or ethanol-blended fuels, it is essential that emergency responders be able to quickly and effectively identify their presence at the scene of an incident. It is important to recognize the proper placarding and marking of ethanol-blended fuels. Proper identification of ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels can ensure proper steps are taken so incidents are managed effectively.
Group Discussion:
Ask participants, in their jurisdiction where the greatest likelihood of an emergency involving E85 or ethanol transportation?

4. From Field to Your Vehicle

5. 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
Ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels are identified using DOT placards. Ethanol-blended fuels and gasoline are transported in various types of containers including tank trucks, rail cars, barges and pipelines.
Copyright ERG

6. 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
DOT has classified hazardous materials according to their primary danger and has assigned standardized symbols to identify the classes. Materials are grouped by their major hazardous characteristics; however, many materials will have other hazards as well. Ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels are in the flammable liquids category. Placards for flammable liquids have a red background with a white flame on them along with their corresponding United Nations (UN) or North American (NA) number.
*Reprinted from the DOT Emergency Response Guidebook,
Group Discussion:
Explain that the UN number is a four-digit identification number on the placard or orange panel. By looking up the UN identification number in the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG), you can find hazard response information about the material.
Copyright ERG

7. 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)
Rail cars and tankers carrying ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels will generally be placarded with a flammable placard or United Nations (UN) 1203 flammable placard when transporting lower ethanol concentrations up to and including E10 blended fuels. The E85 ethanol blend is included under the designation: UN 3475 identification. The UN 3475 placard covers ethanol blends from E11 to E94. Denatured fuel ethanol will be placarded with a UN or North American (NA) flammable placard (see Figure 3.7 in Participant Guide). Ethanol blends from E95 to E99 will be covered under this UN or NA 1987 designation. The UN 1170 placard is for neat ethanol (E100).
*DOT Chart 15 Hazardous Materials Labeling and Placarding Guide and the 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook are included on the Training Guide to Emergency Response DVD.
Copyright ERG

8. Emergency Response Guide
Fire Information: Large fire water spray, fog or alcohol-resistant foam.
Do not use straight streams.
The Emergency Response Guidebook, which includes this placarding information, is used as a resource for first responders when attending to an incident involving hazardous materials and dangerous goods.

9. Ethanol Concentration Preferred Proper Shipping Name
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)

10. 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
One more marking system of interest to emergency responders is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 704 diamond (see Figures 3.4 and 3.5 in Participant Guide). The NFPA 704 marking system is based on the “704 diamond” and is the system used for identifying hazardous materials found within facilities. The NFPA 704 system uses colors, numbers, and special symbols to indicate the presence of hazardous materials. Each colored square indicates the type of hazard, and the higher the number (0-4), the greater the hazard. For example, the number 4 in the blue health square indicates that a very short exposure could cause death or major residual injury.

11. NFPA 704 for Ethanol NFPA 704 Rating Health - 1 Flammability - 3
Reactivity - 0
Health: Blue
Flammability: Red
Reactivity: Yellow
Special: White (special notice)
Ethanol, is represented by a 1 in the blue health square, indicating slight to moderate irritation. It is also represented by a 0 for reactivity (yellow) and a 3 for flammability (red) indicating high flammability with ignition likely under most conditions. There is no commonly accepted special character (white) for ethanol, though one may be appropriate.
Copyright 2008, TEEX/ESTI

12. 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
As most emergency response agencies are aware, most incidents involving hazardous materials occur during transportation and transfer operations. Emergency responders should be aware of areas or routes where large shipments of ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels routinely pass. Denatured fuel ethanol (E95, E98) is one of the leading hazardous materials transported by rail. Unit train shipments containing cars of denatured fuel ethanol (E95, E98) are now commonly seen on some key rail routes leaving from the Midwest and carrying products to various population and distribution centers throughout the country. Most of the Midwest and other ethanol production facilities have access to rail sidings. As a note, some oil refineries are now shipping fuel fully blended.

13. Transportation of Ethanol via Highway
MC306/DOT406:
Dual axle
Capacity
6,000 – 9,500 gallons
Shell material
Aluminum
1 - 7 compartments
Since both gasoline and ethanol-blended fuels have very similar physical and chemical characteristics, they will be transported in the same general types of containers and tanks. The most prevalent style of transport of the blended fuels that emergency responders will encounter will be by MC-306 and Department of Transportation (DOT)-406 style road tankers (see Figures 3.6 and 3.7 in the Participant Guide) with 3/8-inch aluminum tanks. These tankers are non-pressurized dual-axle, come in a variety of sizes and configurations, and have a capacity up to 6,000-9,500 gallons depending on where responders are located. The tanker itself may also have up to seven compartments.
Group Discussion:
On the drawing, Figure 3.6 in the Participant Guide, there are outlets on the underside of the trailer for on- and off-loading the product. Depending on the types of product being carried, the MC-306 is divided into compartments.
In addition to the outlets and piping on the bottom, you can see vents and caps on the top side of the trailer which can fail or leak as a result of rollover accidents. Properly marked 10¾-inch placards should be visible on all four sides making identification of the product easier.
Property of Heil Trailers International, reprinted with permission

14. 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
Cargo tanks trucks are placarded and marked similar to other products. Other characteristics of the cargo tank are pressure and vacuum relief devices. They are typically bottom loaded and unloaded and equipped with a vapor recovery system.

15. Transportation of Ethanol via Highway
Safety devices:
Emergency shutoffs
Break away valves
Sheer protection
Pressure relief devices
Overfill protection
Collision protection
Safety devices on these tank trucks consist of emergency shutoffs, breakaway valves for sheer protection, pressure relief devices as well as overfill and collision protection.

16. 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
Denatured fuel ethanol is transported safely by rail every day. In the transportation of ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels, various routes are utilized. Methods include rail to fixed facility, rail directly to truck and rail directly to pipeline.

17. Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
Most common rail car
DOT111A100W1
General service tank car (non pressure)
Approximately 30, ,000 gallon capacity
No thermal protection
Most of the ethanol transports by rail will be in a non-pressurized (general service) DOT111A100W1 tank car (see Figures 3.8 and 3.9 in the Participant Guide) with no thermal protection. These tank cars have a capacity of approximately 30,000-34,000 gallons and unlike over-the-road cargo tankers, which contain multiple compartments, rail cars are single tanks.

18. Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
Unit train
Consists of rail cars
Single destination point
Stored in or near terminals or transloading facilities
Ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels are commonly transported by unit train. A unit train consists of rail cars which are all heading for a single destination. Unit trains are stored in or near terminals or transloading facilities.

19. Transportation of Ethanol via Rail
Placards & shipping papers example:
Each rail car should be properly placarded and include a shipping paper stating the identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division number and packing group. Also included is the weight of the filled tank car, emergency contact, shipper contact and Hazmat STCC code.
*24 – Hour Emergency Assistance call (Chemtrec)

20. 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
Pressure and vacuum relief devices will be the same as those that are currently found on gasoline-style transport tankers. Nearly all of these fuels are bottom loaded and unloaded by the standard 4-inch quick connect or direct connections. Valving is internal to the tanks with breakaway piping and remote shut-off controls. Vapor recovery systems, also known as scully systems, will be the same as those currently found on gasoline tankers (see Figures 3.10 and 3.11 in the Participant Guide).
Best Practices for Rail Transport of Fuel Ethanol - The most common mode of transportation for fuel ethanol leaving an ethanol production facility is via rail transport. It is estimated that near 70% of all ethanol produced today will travel via rail during the path to the marketplace. Commonly referred to as the “virtual pipeline,” rail transport of fuel ethanol has proven to be extremely efficient and more than adequate for moving product to the marketplace. The “virtual pipeline” may contain upwards of 2.5 million gallons of fuel ethanol in single unit train transport, roughly equivalent to the typical load of petroleum introduced to the pipeline. As the industry continues to grow and expand, the “virtual pipeline” will surely grow and become even more efficient, thus assuring the continued leadership of fuel ethanol transport via rail.
Rail transport can play a significant role in the everyday operations of an ethanol production facility. For example, a 100 million gallon plant situated on a rail line can easily expect to receive and ship an average of 36 railcars per day. That entails receiving raw materials and process aides while at the same time shipping fuel ethanol and other co-products to customers. From a production cost perspective, rail transport can represent the third highest internal cost for a biorefinery, following only raw material procurement and direct energy costs.

21. 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
The majority of the denatured fuel ethanol (E95, E98) is transported from the production facilities to the storage depots by rail. Storage depots that do not have rail access receive fuel-grade ethanol (E95, E98) by road tankers. There is some transfer of fuel-grade ethanol (E95, E98) from rail tanks directly to road tankers called transloading. This is considered to be an interim process until permanent transfer facilities can be provided. Transloading has the greatest potential for transfer problems due to a lack of permanent fixtures or safety equipment. Emergency responders should be aware of this process occurring in their areas. However, many of the bulk storage fuel depots do not have rail sidings. For this reason much of the fuel-grade ethanol (E95, E98) is transloaded to tanker trucks for distribution to bulk storage facilities via highways. There is some denatured fuel ethanol (E95, E98) transported by waterway on board barges or freighter ships. At this time very small amounts of denatured fuel ethanol or ethanol-blended fuel are being experimentally transported by pipeline to evaluate the feasibility of larger-scale pipeline transfers; the concern was corrosiveness to the pipe. Some refineries are now customizing shipments by shipping fuel fully-blended to their customers.

22. Truck Loading Operation
Image of a cargo tank truck at a terminal load rack. Image of railroad tank cars at a transloading facility.
*The Association of American Railroads’ ‘Load and Unloading’ video and Pamphlet 34: Recommended Methods for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Non-Pressure (General Service) and Pressure Tank Cars are included on the Training Guide for Ethanol Emergency Response DVD.
Terminal loading rack
Transloading facility

23. Additional Resources TRANSCAER: Voluntary effort Members
Resources available at
Placards are used to indicate high-concentration ethanol-blended fuels. But the current state of placarding does not provide sufficient information to distinguish between gasoline and E10 gasohol. To the responder, the difference is that E10, as well as all other ethanol-blended fuels, requires Alcohol-Resistant (AR) foam for emergency response. Therefore, localities with mutual aid plans utilizing Airport Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) assets must check if these resources carry AR foam. A good resource to assist in preparing for potential transportation-related hazardous materials events is the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER) Web site, TRANSCAER is a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities prepare for and respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident. TRANSCAER members consist of representatives from chemical manufacturing, transportation, distribution, emergency response agencies, and government agencies. A critical element of this is the flow study which is designed to identify shipments of hazardous materials that either originate or are destined to pass through a specific region. By using the data collected, responders will be able to enhance emergency planning capabilities.
*The TRANSCAER Overview brochure and TRANSCAER and CHEMTREC videos are found on the Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response DVD.
Group Discussion:
Make sure that participants understand the importance of this topic.
Discuss situations where responders cannot reliably distinguish between products based on placarding alone.

24. 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
There are a variety of sources from which an emergency responder can glean information about chemicals involved in spill or fire incidents. Among them are Safety Data Sheets (SDS) or Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), UN numbers, DOT placards, and NFPA 704 placards. Denatured fuel ethanol (E95, E98) has become one of the leading hazardous materials transported by rail. Transfer of this fuel commonly occurs via highways as well.
Group Discussion:
Ask participants:
Is there a potential for one or more ethanol emergencies in your jurisdiction?
What are the most likely types of ethanol emergencies you can see occurring in your jurisdiction (retail fueling station incidents, production incidents, rail incidents, truck transportation incidents, etc.)?
Have there been recent ethanol emergencies in your jurisdiction?
What occurred and what was the actions and impact to the community?

25. Activity 3.1: Ethanol Product Identification
Purpose:
To allow participants to determine the hazards associated with an ethanol emergency.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Figure 3.12
Instructor Directions:
Allow the participants to work in groups of two to three for this activity.
Participants should read the scenario and determine the resources available, immediate hazards, and possible actions to take.
After 10 minutes call time, and randomly call on groups to provide their answers.
Participants should mention the following:
What type of vehicle is this?
Answer: MC-306/DOT-406
List common placards that you might find on this vehicle.
Answers:
1203 placard
1987 placard
UN 3475
UN 1203 orange panel
What other resources might be helpful to responders in this incident?
ERG
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) or Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
What are the immediate concerns and hazards?
Potential for fire
Environmental issues with runoff or fuel leaching into the soil
Potential sources of ignition to trigger a fire such as the welding facility nearby or overhead power lines
Trees and vegetation as fuel for possible wildfire
What possible actions might you take at this point in the situation?
Answers will vary depending on the knowledge of the class, but should include:
Confirming product identify
Determining the amount of the product left in the tank
This last question is to allow participants to begin thinking about mitigation techniques. Remind participants that we are operating at an awareness level. The scene will soon be operating under the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the incident command structure.
Scenario
A transport truck (see Figure 3.12) delivering fuel to the Gas ‘N Matches retail site is involved in a hit and run accident. The driver advises you that the truck is carrying 3,000 gallons of fuel. There is a leak on one of the large pipes on the bottom of the trailer. Fuel is leaking onto the ground and running downhill toward a small welding facility.