There is significant interest within the pipeline industry in transporting fuel-grade ethanol (FGE) as a
result of the increased usage of ethanol as an oxygenating agent for gasoline and interest in ethanol as
an alternative fuel. Currently, FGE is transported primarily by railroad tanker cars, tanker trucks, and
barges. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has been observed in carbon steels in contact with FGE in
user terminals, storage tanks, and loading/unloading racks. This paper summarizes the results of
recent research, funded by the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI), in which the effects of
ethanol-gasoline blend ratio and steel metallurgy on SCC behavior were evaluated. Results of slow
strain rate (SSR) tests of different grades of steel in different metallurgical conditions (weld metal, heat
affected zone (HAZ) and base metal) are presented. The SSR test is an aggressive test technique and
provides conservative bounds of the environmental conditions under which SCC can occur. If SCC is
not found in a SSR test, it is unlikely to occur in an actual application; on the other hand, the presence
of SCC in a SSR test may not necessarily affirm its occurrence in the field.
Keywords: ethanol, pipelines, stress-corrosion cracking, metallurgy, ethanol-gasoline blend ratio