A Plan to Ship Coal Through Pipelines in ‘Giant Baggies’
12th July 2013
Coal slurry pipelines, which carry ground-up coal mixed with water, have been the focus of considerable attention since the mid-1970s because advocates claim they can carry coal more cheaply than railroads.
However, these pipelines require relatively clean water since saline water would mix with the coal powder and cause corrosion and problems when the coal is burned. This is a major problem in the semi-arid West where the pipelines would begin. Here water allocation is handled by complex legal agreements, and proposals to divert large amounts of fresh water over state lines is highly controversial.
This is where Aquatrain would be different. By bagging 3 to 4 tons of coal in thin plastic bags 15 feet long by 30 inches in diameter, W. R. Grace believes it should be possible to pump these coal-filled capsules through a 36-inch pipeline using saline water. Not only would this reduce the cost, but such a pipeline would be likely to pay for its water. That makes such a project far more politically palatable here.
I have my doubts.
”Once you get over laughing at the idea of shipping coal in giant Baggies, the concept has a lot going for it,” says Ira E. McKeever Jr., president of W. R. Grace & Co’s Western Mining Operations, which came up with the novel concept only nine months ago.
Well, I haven’t gotten over laughing at the idea yet, so I’ll let you know.
July 12th, 2013 at 10:37
The slurry pipeline in the 1970’s was built for one real purpose: to get the railroad to drop it’s prices. The whole thing was a disaster, but it did scare the railroads as intended. Once that was accomplished, the pipeline was dismantled. Imagine what happens to an above ground pipeline full of water during the winter and picture the thousands of tires that were piled under the pipeline and set on fire to thaw it out.
Of course, saline won’t freeze as easily as the freshwater used in the old pipe. But you cannot allow the saline in contact with coal. Why? Because the chlorine in salt causes dioxins to be formed during combustion. And while the actual toxicity of dioxins is no where near the listed EPA limits (“truth” not being particularly important to EPA), the allowable emissions are so small that no power plant or boiler would be allowed to operate.
Add in the “O” Administration’s war on coal and you end up with a project that was dead before it’s concept was scratched out on a paper napkin.