[IP] Brand A vs. Brand B (was: "more on -- Price of Gasoline")

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

> Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 15:32:27 -0700
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
> Subject: Re: Brand A vs. Brand B (was: "more on -- Price of Gasoline")
> To: dave@farber.net
>
>
> > >Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 14:23:38 -0700
> > >From: Rodney Joffe <rjoffe@centergate.com>
> > >...
> > >If all the gasoline comes in via the two pipelines, and there are no
> > >local refineries, how can there be any qualitative difference between
> > >the various gasoline brands (unless they use "time slices" or "flow
> > >slices" in the pipeline).
>
> This is actually a very interesting topic.  By and large, the pipeline
> system treats any given class of petro product as utterly fungible.  A
> company can pump in a given amount at one location, and pump out another
> amount at a different location at the same time.  At the pipeline level, for
> example, all 89 octane unleaded is usually considered to be the same stuff.
> Different *classes* of product (e.g. different octanes, different basic
> products, etc.) usually go via time slice, with the material that "mixes"
> between the main flows used by industries who aren't particularly picky.
>
> Once the basic gasoline gets to a terminal, the "identity" of the product is
> established by mixing in the various additives at that point.  Then the
> trucks fill up and off they go.  Of course, there is considerable argument
> about whether the additive mix of brand A vs. brand B gasoline really makes
> any difference, but in any case this is pretty much how it works.
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren@pfir.org or lauren@vortex.com or lauren@privacyforum.org
> http://www.pfir.org/lauren
> Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
> Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
> Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
>                      Cooperation and Analysis - http://www.uriica.org
> Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
> Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy

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