What The Colonial Pipeline Shutdown Teaches US About Ethanol Fuel Photo by New York Post US as in the worldwide collective WE, and US as in the U.S. of America By Marc J. Rauch Marc Rauch Over the years, as Bob Gordon and I have advocated ethanol as a fuel for internal combustion engines, we've often been confronted with a curious objection to ethanol. The objection is that ethanol fuel is impractical because it can't be shipped over long distances via pipeline. The reasons given for why ethanol can't be shipped via pipeline are that it's too evaporative or that it's too corrosive, or both at the same time.