Pipeline transportation is one of the five major transportation modes. Compared with Europe and America, the development of pipeline transportation in China lags behind. In our traditional impression, pipeline transportation is mainly concentrated in the oil and natural gas field, relatively small minority. However, pipeline transportation also has a less well known side: its mileage volume and railway, inland waterway shipping is equivalent, its service cargo class is not limited to oil and gas, its laying location is not just the wilderness…… Even to a certain extent it represents the future of transportation.
Besides oil and gas pipelines, what other pipelines are there for transportation?
- Hydraulic pipeline transportation
Hydraulic pipeline transportation is a kind of transportation method that uses hydraulic power to transport solid granular material or other fluid in pipeline. At present, countries in the world in mining, metallurgy, chemical industry, coal, water conservancy has been a large number of uses, including coal, copper concentrate, sulfur concentrate, iron concentrate, tailings, asphalt, limestone, etc.
But this kind of pipeline transportation also has the shortcoming: The solid cargo loss is bigger; Solid goods collide with each other irregularly in the pipeline, which causes serious wear and tear to the pipeline. Solid cargo to the destination after the need for dehydration treatment, more trouble. In addition, there are certain limitations to the goods being transported. For example, some goods that cannot come into contact with water cannot be transported in it. - Hydraulic container pipeline transportation
In order to make up for the shortcomings of hydraulic pipeline transportation, people use aluminum alloy, plastic and other materials into a cylindrical container, and then the solid goods into the container, then use the pipeline to transport the container out. This is the hydraulic container pipeline transportation.
The solid cargo is loaded into the cylindrical container by the loader, and the high-pressure water produced by the high-pressure pump is then used to push the container through the pipe at a minimum speed of 1-2 metres per second. At the end of the pipeline, there is a receiving station where the cargo in the container is discharged by a discharger and the empty container is returned to the original conveying station by another pipeline circuit. This kind of container pipeline transportation, the United States has been used for coal transportation. The advantage of hydraulic container pipeline transportation is that there is little energy consumption and pipeline wear and tear. - Pneumatic container pipeline transportation
The working principle of pneumatic container pipeline transportation is similar to that of hydraulic container transportation. The air compressor pushes the container in the pipeline and slides along the pipe wall. The speed can reach 25-35 kilometers per hour. A loading station, a unloading station and a control room are arranged at both ends of the pipeline. With the use of electronic computers and photogrammetric equipment, the movement of containers in pipelines can be monitored. Pneumatic container pipeline transportation can be used for fuel, ore transportation, some countries also use it to transport postal parcels, letters. - Vacuum pipeline pneumatic container transportation
This kind of pipeline transportation is to set up pumping and compressor stations at both ends of the pipeline. The air at one end of the forward direction of the container is extracted, and the air with a certain pressure is sent behind the container, which makes the container run through a suction and a push. Although the requirements of smoothness and coincidence of the box body and tube wall are higher in the vacuum pipeline pneumatic container transportation, the construction cost is increased, but the power consumption is smaller. - Electric traction container pipeline transportation
Pipe transportation of containers by means of conveyor belts or cables. Transport, a number of containers into a team, the team interval 20-100 meters, in the water filled with the help of buoyancy of water, by the conveyor belt or cable to tow the container fleet, the speed of up to 2-6 meters per second. - Hyperloop (vacuum tube train)
The concept of hyperloop was first proposed by SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. According to Musk’s vision, the train can run at high speed in no wheel-rail resistance, low air resistance and low noise mode, with a speed of 600-1200 km / h, with ultra-high speed, low energy consumption, low noise and high safety performance.
What are the advantages of pipeline transportation? - Avoid urban conflicts
The United States, Germany, Britain, Japan and other countries have realized the exploration of using pipeline transportation to undertake urban logistics. Because this kind of pipeline transportation can completely isolate logistics activities from urban space, it can also overcome noise and reduce environmental pollution, so it can effectively solve the city’s cultural features, environmental sanitation, traffic safety and other issues. In waste recycling logistics, pipeline transportation can also play a role. Waste from each house or factory is collected in a container, and then sent to a waste recycling plant or incineration plant in the suburbs through a vacuum pipeline.
At the same time, urban pipeline transportation can make use of the existing urban underground official website to revitalize the stock and save costs. The new urban underground logistics pipeline can also be constructed by modern trenchless underground pipeline engineering technology, which has the following advantages over the traditional excavation construction: it will not cause damage to urban roads and adjacent facilities and buildings; No noise, no vibration in construction, will not cause air pollution; No interference to ground traffic; Small public impact during construction; Little damage to the urban ecological environment. - Significant cost savings
Pipeline transportation is a continuous transportation technology, 24 hours a day, 12 months a year, can be continuously carried out without stopping, not only transport high efficiency, but also has the advantages of less investment, convenient management, low transportation cost.
Unaffected by natural conditions
Because the transportation pipeline is buried underground, the pipeline transportation is not affected by the geographical and spatial conditions. It can pass through the primeval forest, mountains, desert wasteland, vast frozen tundra, rivers and straits that are difficult for other means of transportation.
How is pipeline transportation in China?
Since the reform and opening up, around the four strategic channels of oil and gas resources import, China has basically formed an oil and gas backbone pipeline network connecting overseas, covering the whole country, straddling the east and west, running through the north and south, and closely following up the regional pipeline network. At present, the mileage of pipeline transportation is about 130000 kilometers, which is in the same order of magnitude as the mileage of railway and inland waterways.
Natural gas pipeline transportation
Internationally, three natural gas import channels have been formed: the Central Asian natural gas pipeline, the Sino-Burmese natural gas pipeline and the Sino-Russian eastern natural gas pipeline. In China, around the transmission of gas from west to east, gas from Shaanxi to east, and gas from Sichuan to east, the main lines such as Shaanxi-Beijing line, west-east gas transmission line, Sichuan-east gas transmission line, Jining line, Huaiwu line, Lanyin line, Zhonggui line and so on have been formed.
Oil pipeline transportation
Internationally, the Sino-Russian crude oil pipeline, the second line of the Sino-Russian crude oil pipeline, the Sino-Myanmar pipeline and the Sino-Kazakh crude oil pipeline have been formed. In China, around the west and east, north oil south, the formation of Lancheng, Changhu and other crude oil pipelines, such as Lanchengyu, Lan Zheng Chang, Hubao Hubei as the representative of the finished oil pipeline.
Hydraulic pipeline transportation
Mainly used in metallurgical mines and other special scenes, mainly point-to-point, not net.
Urban underground pipeline transportation
Xiongan New area has planned an underground urban logistics system, like a capsule unmanned car, which will transport goods through underground tunnels or large-diameter pipelines, connecting the urban logistics center and the city’s business super, warehouse, industrial park and terminal stations. At the 2019 Global Intelligent Logistics Summit, JD.com Logistics showed the way of logistics development from underground to space.
