China completes a field trial for the sequential transport of methanol through a long-distance refined oil pipeline in Northwest China"s Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. Photo: screenshot from CCTV News

　　China has completed its first field trial of transporting fuel methanol through an existing long-distance refined oil pipeline, marking a key step from theoretical research to engineering application in the large-scale transport of methanol through fuel pipeline networks, according to a report by CCTV News.

　　The results provide a complete technical solution and practical experience for future large-scale, cross-regional transport of fuel methanol, CCTV News reported.

　　The trial was carried out in Northwest China"s Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. After a comprehensive assessment of pipeline compatibility and safety upgrades at two stations, a total of 1,000 cubic meters of fuel methanol was transported in two batches through an operating refined oil pipeline from Gansu to an oil depot in Shaanxi, with the entire process conducted in a sealed and controllable manner.

　　The trial used a sequential transport method, in which methanol and gasoline were transported through the same pipeline in batches, Wang Yubin, a senior engineer at the Research Institute of PipeChina, was quoted as saying by CCTV News.

　　“The total length of the mixed section between methanol and gasoline was kept within one kilometer, showing that the system is capable of supporting large-scale methanol transport,” Wang said. At the oil depot, the two materials were successfully separated and stored in different tanks, completing the full industrial verification process, he added.