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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~.., <br /> <br />. <br />.- <br /> <br />- 4 - <br /> <br />,',' <br />"".... <br /> <br />~ <br />c...' <br />(..) <br /> <br />natural mineral springs near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. These mineral flows <br />are planned to be the primary source of saline water for AQUATRAIN. <br /> <br />The saline spring flows will be collected by pipeline at Glenwood Springs and <br />carried to the entry point of the AQUATRAIN pipeline, near Rifle, Colorado. At <br />Rifle, an equivalent amount of fresh water will be released into the Colorado <br />from private sources owned by W. R. Grace & Co. This fresh water will make up <br />for the salt water used by AQUATRAIN. <br /> <br />The result of this exchange will be a 50% reduction in the amount of salt reaching <br />the River from the Glenwood Springs sources. And, there will be no loss in down- <br />stream flow volume. <br /> <br />But, these salinity control benefits, as important as they are, are still only half <br />the AQUATRAIN story. The other half concerns energy and the revolutionary tech- <br />nology of the AQUATRAIN project. Let's take a look at that technology. <br /> <br />The AQUATRAIN pipeline will be 30" to 36" in diameter, made of plastic-lined steel <br />pipe. It will be installed with mostly conventional, proven methods in a contin- <br />uous operation moving along the right-of-way. It will be buried throughout most of <br />its length. <br /> <br />The coal will be carried in lightweight plastic containers, 10 to 15 feet long, <br />each containing 2-4 tons of coal. A cross-laminated, multi-ply plastic, much <br />stronger than ordinary plastic sheet, is being considered for these capsules. <br /> <br />They will be filled with dry, stable. crushed coal of the same density as the <br />saline water. Therefore, they'll be essentially weightless in the water, and will <br />move uphill in the pipeline as easily as downhill. <br /> <br />The capsules will move about 3 to 4 miles per hour in the pipeline. At this rate, <br />it might take about 12 days for an individual capsule to make the trip to California, <br />for example. But, once started, capsules would be arriving at the end of the line <br />around the clock, 24 hours a day. <br /> <br />If the coal is for export, it might be stored prior to loading on board ship, <br />but not in the conventional fashion. Enclosed storage will maintain the dry, <br />stable conditions made possible by the encapsulated shipment. There is also a <br />possibility the coal could be loaded directly on board ship, offshore, while still <br />