Floating Pipeline

If its resting on mud its not floating anymore.

If it breaks the mud flat will become a oil slick mud flat

If it seems not right it probably isnt.

If you have to ask you have not established and read the code.

My first question would be: What are the other options?

I would start by seeing if all the sub chemical compounds of what fluid you may be transporting with it are within the acceptable range of chemical compatibility with HDPE.

HDPE Chemical compatibility guide.

Reason I say sub chemical compounds if due to a common issue known with gasoline that makes fuel lines rot out on lawn and garden and other smaller and medium sized engine applications being the rubber and plastic lines they use may be listed as being 'gasoline compatible' most are in fact not compatible with one or more of the normal sub chemical compounds that actually make up larger percentages of the chemical mix we call gasoline so when given enough exposure time they chemically break down.

So given that, If the chemical compatibilities all match and the line you want to use is rated for the pressures and service application and local environmental rules are met then, Yes you can use HDPE for your unloading line.

Doesn't that make it a "hose"?

To put this in context, you are in way over your head.

Whoever gave you this assignment must not be aware of your complete lack of experience.

This is the third question you have asked the forum, all indicating a complete lack of knowledge of the subject to hand.

If you are incapable of doing any meaningful research on your own, you should look for an easier job.

Start here:

Pipeline 101

Pipeline design consideration and standards - - PetroWi

Crude Oil Characteristics - Enbridge Inc.

API | Pipelines

Sorry if this is harsh, but it is the truth.

Oil spills happen often enough when designed by competent engineers.

You are a spill in the making.

It is a pre-feasibility study. I am looking to engage persons who are experience in this field. it would be helpful if you can share your knowledge.

As I said in my reply to your PM, You are not prepared for the projects you take on.

No one here is an oil pipeline expert.

The American Petroleum Institute can recommend consultants that you will have to pay to help you study the feasibility of, or design, a pipeline.

Projects such as this have millions of dollars of liability exposure and you, and your company can be taken to court and sued for negligence if the pipeline that you are working on erupts and spills thousands of gallons of oil into a waterway or, worse yet, kill some innocent by-stander.

I have added the following:

Damage from Shell oil spill in Gulf of Mexico still unclear; US - FSRN

Go to some of these forums:

Pipeline Operators Forum

Petroleum Community Forum

Oil and Gas Pipelines in the Middle East - The Energy Exchange

They have members who can help you.

Also, asking manufacturers of plastic piping would be better than asking anonymous strangers about their suitability for such use..

JM Eagle™: World's Largest Plastic and PVC Pipe Manufacturer

Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association | Members | Plastic Pipe ...

Spears Manufacturing, PVC & CPVC Plastic Pipe Fittings & Valves

Pacific Plastics Inc.

Who ever gave you this assignment must not be aware of your complete lack of experience.

Lyn, it sounds more like his complete lack of experience is in knowing when or when not to take on an assignment that he has a lack of experience in.

Or, not knowing how to learn when given, "an assignment that he has a lack of experience in."

Asking anonymous, unknown strangers how to solve an undefined problem does not seem like a path to success.

Your best to hire a consultancy company or contact a professional supplier of ship to shore pipeline solutions to offer advice or design a suitable solution.

This is not something that is safe to do without experience, and the legal liability and potential problems and safety issues are enormous.

Transporting fuel oil at high pressure is potentially very dangerous and not something people should be offering piecemeal design advice on, especially when the pipeline is not a standard fixed pipe over solid ground and subject to many unknown site-specific conditions and forces that could effect any solution proposed.

Safety first.

Jfreddy

You have some very good advice so far in responses #2, #4 and #7.

From my 25yrs in offshore pipeline systems, my suggestion is to take about a month and start reading then come back with real questions.

If you are looking at "pre-feasibility", then having only one option is an incomplete problem statement, unless there's more to the story than you are sharing.

In specific response to your questions posed:

1) anything is possible for a price, provided it meets all codes. Depends on the depth of your pockets and tolerance to risk whether or not it's feasible.

2) proper material selection for service requirements is key and your first line barrier to failure (and spill) and cannot be stressed (no pun intended) enough.

Lastly, I can claim being a " pipeline expert" and FYI, we charge about $175 an hour to open....keep that in mind too, in case it provides incentive to do your own work.

hhplg :p

Looking at this as not a real project, I wonder if it would be possible.

If you install a sewer line and it is empty, and heavy rains completely saturate the soil around it, it sometimed pops out of the ground like an air bubble.

I'm guessing no on the HDPE, because it will probably dissolve.

Also, these plastics dont like sunlight and quickly deteriorate in UV.

Maybe a continuously formed foamy type of material with entrained air bubbles like a pool noodle HAHA, made of some kind of extremely uv resistant material that is elastic, wrapped around something else to transport the fuel. Maybe the same hose you use to normally pump it around.

What of viscosity, head losses over that distance.. anchors, joints that account for thermal changes. mechanical engineers know more about pumping weird fluids.

The pool noodle experiment.