Liquefied petroleum gas
Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a
LPG is used as a
Varieties of LPG that are bought and sold include mixes that are mostly propane (C
3H
8), mostly butane (C
4H
10), and, most commonly, mixes including both propane and butane. In the northern hemisphere winter, the mixes contain more propane, while in summer, they contain more butane.[6][7] In the United States, mainly two grades of LPG are sold: commercial propane and HD-5. These specifications are published by the Gas Processors Association (GPA)[8] and the American Society of Testing and Materials.[9] Propane/butane blends are also listed in these specifications.
LPG is prepared by
Besides its use as an energy carrier, LPG is also a promising feedstock in the chemical industry for the synthesis of olefins such as ethylene, propylene,[13][14]
As its boiling point is below room
A full LPG gas cylinder contains 86% liquid; the ullage volume will contain vapour at a pressure that varies with temperature.[15]
LPG prices around the world
Country/Territory | US$/L (95 RON )
|
US$/US gallon (95 RON) |
Date of price | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | 0.0661 | 0.25 | 9 Mar 2023 | [16] |
Angola | 0.1991 | 0.75 | 9 Mar 2023 | [17] |
Saudi Arabia | 0.2401 | 0.91 | 9 Mar 2023 | [18] |
Russia | 0.2561 | 0.97 | 9 Mar 2023 | [19] |
Kyrgyzstan | 0.3371 | 1.28 | 9 Mar 2023 | [20] |
Azerbaijan | 0.3821 | 1.45 | 9 Mar 2023 | [21] |
Taiwan | 0.4751 | 1.80 | 9 Mar 2023 | [22] |
Australia | 0.4981 | 1.89 | 9 Mar 2023 | [23] |
Honduras | 0.5071 | 1.92 | 9 Mar 2023 | [24] |
Peru | 0.5071 | 1.92 | 9 Mar 2023 | [25] |
Belarus | 0.5191 | 1.97 | 9 Mar 2023 | [26] |
Cambodia | 0.5671 | 2.15 | 9 Mar 2023 | [27] |
Paraguay | 0.5831 | 2.21 | 9 Mar 2023 | [28] |
Lithuania | 0.6171 | 2.34 | 9 Mar 2023 | [29] |
Bulgaria | 0.6271 | 2.37 | 9 Mar 2023 | [30] |
Turkey | 0.6281 | 2.38 | 9 Mar 2023 | [31] |
Ukraine | 0.6511 | 2.46 | 9 Mar 2023 | [32] |
Mongolia | 0.6801 | 2.57 | 9 Mar 2023 | [33] |
Georgia | 0.6851 | 2.59 | 9 Mar 2023 | [34] |
Albania | 0.6921 | 2.62 | 9 Mar 2023 | [35] |
South Korea | 0.6941 | 2.63 | 9 Mar 2023 | [36] |
Dominican Republic | 0.7021 | 2.66 | 9 Mar 2023 | [37] |
Poland | 0.7191 | 2.72 | 9 Mar 2023 | [38] |
Chile | 0.7331 | 2.78 | 9 Mar 2023 | [39] |
Philippines | 0.7701 | 2.92 | 9 Mar 2023 | [40] |
Estonia | 0.7721 | 2.92 | 9 Mar 2023 | [41] |
Czech Republic | 0.7921 | 3.00 | 9 Mar 2023 | [42] |
Bosnia And Herzegovina
|
0.8061 | 3.05 | 9 Mar 2023 | [43] |
India | 0.8191 | 3.10 | 9 Mar 2023 | [44] |
Slovakia | 0.8361 | 3.16 | 9 Mar 2023 | [45] |
San Marino | 0.8381 | 3.17 | 9 Mar 2023 | [46] |
Latvia | 0.8411 | 3.18 | 9 Mar 2023 | [47] |
Romania | 0.8571 | 3.24 | 9 Mar 2023 | [48] |
Italy | 0.8591 | 3.25 | 9 Mar 2023 | [49] |
Macedonia | 0.8611 | 3.26 | 9 Mar 2023 | [50] |
Moldova | 0.8611 | 3.26 | 9 Mar 2023 | [51] |
Belgium | 0.8681 | 3.29 | 9 Mar 2023 | [52] |
Luxembourg | 0.8701 | 3.29 | 9 Mar 2023 | [53] |
Netherlands | 0.8891 | 3.37 | 9 Mar 2023 | [54] |
Lebanon | 0.9031 | 3.42 | 9 Mar 2023 | [55] |
Serbia | 0.9101 | 3.45 | 9 Mar 2023 | [56] |
Portugal | 0.9151 | 3.46 | 9 Mar 2023 | [57] |
United Kingdom | 0.9171 | 3.47 | 9 Mar 2023 | [58] |
Canada | 0.9281 | 3.51 | 9 Mar 2023 | [59] |
Slovenia | 0.9931 | 3.76 | 9 Mar 2023 | [60] |
Croatia | 1.0261 | 3.88 | 9 Mar 2023 | [61] |
Israel | 1.0341 | 3.91 | 9 Mar 2023 | [62] |
Hungary | 1.0431 | 3.95 | 9 Mar 2023 | [63] |
Spain | 1.0491 | 3.97 | 9 Mar 2023 | [64] |
France | 1.0531 | 3.99 | 9 Mar 2023 | [65] |
Greece | 1.0571 | 4.00 | 9 Mar 2023 | [66] |
Fiji | 1.0601 | 4.01 | 9 Mar 2023 | [67] |
Switzerland | 1.1411 | 4.32 | 9 Mar 2023 | [68] |
Germany | 1.1531 | 4.36 | 9 Mar 2023 | [69] |
Sweden | 1.3451 | 5.09 | 9 Mar 2023 | [70] |
Uses
LPG has a wide variety of uses in many different markets as an efficient fuel container in the agricultural, recreation, hospitality, industrial, construction, sailing and fishing sectors. It can serve as fuel for cooking, central heating and water heating and is a particularly cost-effective and efficient way to heat off-grid homes.
Cooking
LPG is used for cooking in many countries for economic reasons, for convenience or because it is the preferred fuel source.
In India, nearly 8.9 million tons of LPG were consumed in the six months between April and September 2016 in the domestic sector, mainly for cooking. The number of domestic connections are 215 million (i.e., one connection for every six people) with a circulation of more than 350 million LPG cylinders.[71] Most of the LPG requirement is imported. Piped city gas supply in India is not yet developed on a major scale. LPG is subsidised by the Indian government for domestic users. An increase in LPG prices has been a politically sensitive matter in India as it potentially affects the middle class voting pattern.
LPG was once a standard cooking fuel in Hong Kong; however, the continued expansion of town gas to newer buildings has reduced LPG usage to less than 24% of residential units. However, other than electric, induction, or infrared stoves, LPG-fueled stoves are the only type available in most suburban villages and many public housing estates.
LPG is the most common cooking fuel in Brazilian urban areas, being used in virtually all households, with the exception of the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which have a natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Since 2001, poor families receive a government grant ("Vale Gás") used exclusively for the acquisition of LPG. Since 2003, this grant is part of the government's main social welfare program ("Bolsa Família"). Also, since 2005, the national oil company Petrobras differentiates between LPG destined for cooking and LPG destined for other uses, establishing a lower price for the former. This is a result of a directive from the Brazilian federal government, but its discontinuation is currently being debated.[72]
LPG is commonly used in North America for domestic cooking and outdoor grilling.
Rural heating
Predominantly in Europe and rural parts of many countries, LPG can provide an alternative to electric heating, heating oil, or kerosene. LPG is most often used in areas that do not have direct access to piped natural gas. In the UK about 200,000 households use LPG for heating.
LPG can be used as a power source for
LPG can be stored in a variety of manners. LPG, as with other
Motor fuel
When LPG is used to fuel
LPG has a lower energy density per liter than either petrol or fuel-oil, so the equivalent
Not all automobile engines are suitable for use with LPG as a fuel. LPG provides less upper cylinder lubrication than petrol or diesel, so LPG-fueled engines are more prone to valve wear if they are not suitably modified. Many modern common rail diesel engines respond well to LPG use as a supplementary fuel. This is where LPG is used as fuel as well as diesel. Systems are now available that integrate with OEM engine management systems.
Conversion kits can switch a vehicle dedicated to gasoline to using a dual system, in which both gasoline and LPG are used in the same vehicle.
In 2020, BW LPG successfully retrofitted a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) with LPG propulsion technology, pioneering LPG's application in large-scale maritime operations.[75] LPG’s lowers emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter[76][77] align with stricter standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), making LPG a viable transition option as the maritime industry transitions towards net zero carbon emissions.[78]
Conversion to gasoline
LPG can be converted into
Refrigeration
LPG is instrumental in providing
Blended from pure, dry propane (refrigerant designator R-290) and isobutane (R-600a) the blend "R-290a" has negligible ozone depletion potential, very low global warming potential and can serve as a functional replacement for R-12, R-22, R-134a and other chlorofluorocarbon or hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants in conventional stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems.[79]
Such substitution is widely prohibited or discouraged in motor vehicle air conditioning systems, on the grounds that using
Vendors and advocates of hydrocarbon refrigerants argue against such bans on the grounds that there have been very few such incidents relative to the number of vehicle air conditioning systems filled with hydrocarbons.[82][83] One particular test, conducted by a professor at the University of New South Wales, unintentionally tested the worst-case scenario of a sudden and complete refrigerant expulsion into the passenger compartment followed by subsequent ignition. He and several others in the car sustained minor burns to their face, ears, and hands, and several observers received lacerations from the burst glass of the front passenger window. No one was seriously injured.[84]
Propellant
Global production
Global LPG production reached over 292 million metric tons per year (Mt/a) in 2015, while global LPG consumption to over 284 Mt/a.
Security of supply
Because of the natural gas and the oil-refining industry, Europe is almost self-sufficient in LPG. Europe's security of supply is further safeguarded by:
- a wide range of sources, both inside and outside Europe;
- a flexible supply chain via water, rail and road with numerous routes and entry points into Europe.
According to 2010–12 estimates, proven world reserves of natural gas, from which most LPG is derived, stand at 300 trillion cubic meters (10,600 trillion cubic feet). Production continues to grow at an average annual rate of 2.2%.
Comparison with natural gas
LPG is composed mainly of propane and butane, while natural gas is composed of the lighter
LPG-based SNG is used in emergency backup systems for many public, industrial and military installations, and many utilities use LPG
LPG-based SNG or natural gas with localized storage and piping distribution network to the households for catering to each cluster of 5000 domestic consumers can be planned under the initial phase of the city gas network system. This would eliminate the last mile LPG cylinders road transport which is a cause of traffic and safety hurdles in Indian cities. These localized natural gas networks are successfully operating in Japan with feasibility to get connected to wider networks in both villages and cities.
Environmental effects
Commercially available LPG is currently derived mainly from fossil fuels. Burning LPG releases
LPG burns more cleanly than higher molecular weight
As it is much less polluting than most traditional solid-fuel stoves, replacing cookstoves used in developing countries with LPG is one of the key strategies adopted to reduce household air pollution in the developing world.[93]
Fire/explosion risk and mitigation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
In a refinery or gas plant, LPG must be stored in
LPG containers have pressure relief valves, such that when subjected to exterior heating sources, they will vent LPGs to the atmosphere or a
If a tank is subjected to a fire of sufficient duration and intensity, it can undergo a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE). This is typically a concern for large refineries and petrochemical plants that maintain very large containers. In general, tanks are designed so that the product will vent faster than pressure can build to dangerous levels.
One remedy that is utilized in industrial settings is to equip such containers with a measure to provide a fire-resistance rating. Large, spherical LPG containers may have up to a 15 cm steel wall thickness. They are equipped with an approved pressure relief valve. A large fire in the vicinity of the vessel will increase its temperature and pressure. The relief valve on the top is designed to vent off excess pressure in order to prevent the rupture of the container itself. Given a fire of sufficient duration and intensity, the pressure being generated by the boiling and expanding gas can exceed the ability of the valve to vent the excess. Alternatively, if, due to continued venting, the liquid level drops below the area being heated, the tank structure can be overheated and subsequently weakened in that area. If either occurs, the container may rupture violently, launching pieces of the vessel at high velocity, while the released products can ignite as well, potentially causing catastrophic damage to anything nearby, including other containers.
People can be exposed to LPG in the workplace by breathing it in, skin contact, and eye contact. The
See also
- Compressed natural gas (CNG)
- Filling carousel
- Gasoline gallon equivalent
- Industrial gas
- Intumescent
- POL valve
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