Patent attributes
In one embodiment, a pipeline interchange flows a product through an upstream pipeline. An automated analyzer is connected to the upstream pipeline, wherein the automated analyzer analyzes a sample of the product, and wherein the analyzer is capable of analyzing different physical and/or chemical characteristics of the product and generating a data sample. An automatic splitter is then placed downstream of the automated slipstream analyzer. In this embodiment, the automatic splitter is capable of receiving and interpreting the data sample from the automated analyzer and directing the product into at least three different downstream pipelines, wherein at least one of the downstream pipelines is a transmix pipeline and wherein at least one of the downstream pipelines returns the product upstream of the automated analyzer.