Because fuel ethanol? is typically not transported by pipeline, it is usually transported from the ethanol production facility by rail or road. Of these two methods, rail is the most common.

Best Practices for Rail Transport of Fuel Ethanol¹
It is estimated that near 70% of all ethanol produced today will travel via rail during the path to the marketplace². Rail transport of fuel ethanol has proven to be extremely efficient and more than adequate for moving product to the marketplace. The railroad virtual pipeline may contain upward 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.

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.

The Renewable Fuels Association has compiled a comprehensive document on best practices. (See ¹ in References and external links below.) The document covers the following ground:
* Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations
* Ethanol as a Hazardous Material
* Definitions of flammable liquids by DOT and OSHA
* SOP suggestions for shipping locations that load and unload rail cars
* Resources and links to US DOT Hazardous material instructions³
* Selection of tankcars, including which tankcars are not suitable for ethanol transportation
* Preventive maintenance on tankcar gaskets
* Inspection of vacuum relief devices
* Grounding and bonding
* Shipping papers
* Outage and headspace
* Security plans
* Placarding recommendations
* Proper shipping names
* DOT training, including hazardous material training
* Record keeping
* Loading checklists

References and external links

¹ Best Practices for Rail Transportion of Fuel Ethanol

² Renewable Fuels Association

³ US DOT policies and instruction for the transportation of hazardous material by rail