Propane

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Propane
Image:Propane.gif
General
Molecular formula CH3CH2CH3
C3H8
SMILES CCC
Molar mass 44.096 g/mol
Appearance Colorless gas
CAS number [74-98-6]
Properties
Density and phase 1.83 g/l, gas
Solubility in water 0.1 g/cm3 (37.8°C)
Melting point −187.6 °C (85.5 K)
Boiling point −42.09 °C (231.1 K)
Structure
Dipole moment 0.083 D
Symmetry group C2v
Hazards
MSDS External MSDS
EU classification Highly flammable (F+)
NFPA 704 Template:Nfpa
R-phrases Template:R12
S-phrases Template:S2, Template:S9, Template:S16
Flash point -104 °C
Autoignition temperature 432 °C
Explosive limits 2.1–9.5%
RTECS number TX2275000
Supplementary data page
Structure and
properties 		n, εr, etc.
Thermodynamic
data 		Phase behaviour
Solid, liquid, gas
Spectral data UV, IR, NMR, MS
Related compounds
Related alkanes Ethane
Butane
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references

Propane is a three-carbon alkane. It is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing. It is commonly used as a heat source for engines, barbecues, and homes. Its name was derived from propionic acid.

Contents

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Uses

When commonly sold as fuel it is also known as liquified petroleum gas (LPG or LP-gas) and can be a mixture of propane with smaller amounts of propylene, butane and butylene, plus an odorant (ethanethiol) to allow the normally odorless propane to be smelled. In North America, propane is primarily a pure fuel with only the odorant added.

It is used as fuel in cooking on many barbecues, portable stoves, and in motor vehicles. Propane powers some locomotives, buses, forklifts, and taxis and is used for heat and cooking in recreational vehicles and campers. In many rural areas of North America, propane is also used in furnaces, stoves, water heaters, laundry dryers, and other heat-producing appliances. 6.5 million American households use propane as their primary heating fuel.

In North America, local delivery trucks called "bobtails" fill up large tanks that are permanently installed on the property (sometimes called pigs), or other service trucks exchange empty bottles of propane with filled bottles. The bobtails are unique to the North American market. Elsewhere in the world, propane is delivered to consumers via small or medium-sized individual tanks.

North American industries using propane include glass makers, brick kilns, poultry farms, and other industries that need portable heat. Additionally, most of the entire North American chemical industry uses propane to power their huge facilities that crack or distill industrial chemical products.

Unlike natural gas, propane is heavier than air (1.5 times denser). In its raw state, propane sinks and pools at the floor. Liquid propane will flash to a vapor at atmospheric pressure and appears white due to moisture condensing from the air.

Propane is the fastest growing fuel source in the Third World, especially in China and India. Its use frees up the huge rural populations from time-consuming ancient chores such as wood gathering and allows them more time to pursue other activities, such as increased farming or educational opportunties.

Propane is also being used increasingly more for vehicle fuels. In the U.S., 190,000 on-road vehicles use propane, and 450,000 forklifts use it for power. It is the third most popular vehicle fuel in America, behind gasoline and diesel. In other parts of the world, propane used in vehicles is known as autogas. About 9 million vehicles worldwide use autogas.

Another use of propane is the application as propellant for aerosol sprays, especially after the ban of CFCs. So called "green gas" used in many gas-powered BB or airsoft guns is merely propane as the propellant with silicone oil added to lubricate gaskets. It is also used as a feedstock for the production of base petrochemicals in steam cracking.

Propane is also instrumental in providing off-the-grid refrigeration, also called gas absorption refrigerators. Made popular by the Servel company, propane-powered refrigerators are highly efficient, do not require electricity, and have no moving parts. Refrigerators built in the 1930s are still in regular use, with little or no maintenance. (However, Servel refrigerators are subject to a 1998 CPSC recall for CO poisoning.) Today, the Unilever company is exploring the use of environmentally friendly propane as a refrigerant.

On an aside, North American barbecue grills powered by propane cannot be used overseas. The "propane" sold overseas is actually a mixture of propane/butane, with its usage calibrated to the different-sized nozzles found in non-U.S. grills. Americans who take their grills overseas--such as military personnel--can find U.S.-specification propane at AAFES military post exchanges.

Propane is used in some flamethrowers, as the fuel, or as the pressurizing gas.

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Source

Propane is not produced for its own sake, but as a byproduct of two other processes: natural gas processing and petroleum refining.

The processing of natural gas involves removal of propane and butane from the natural gas to prevent condensation of these liquids in natural gas pipelines. Additionally, oil refineries produce some propane as a by-product of production of gasoline or heating oil.

The supply of propane cannot be easily adjusted to account for increased demand because of the by-product nature of propane production. About 85% of U.S. propane is domestically produced.

The United States imports about 10-15% of the propane consumed each year. Propane is imported into the United States via pipeline and rail from Canada, and by tankers from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Norway and the United Kingdom.

After it is produced, North American propane is stored in massive salt caverns located in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, Mont Belvieu , Texas, and Conway, Kansas. These salt caverns were hollowed out in the 1940s and can store up to 80 million barrels of propane, if not more. The exact storage capacity is not publicly known. When the propane is needed, most of it is shipped by pipelines to other areas of the Midwest, the North, and the South, for use by customers. Propane is also shipped by barge and rail car to selected U.S. areas.

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History

Propane was first identified as a volatile component in gasoline by Dr. Walter O. Snelling of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910. Dr. Snelling established the first commercial propane vendor, American Gasol, in 1912. He was contacted to investigate vapors coming from a gasoline tank vent of a newly purchased Ford Model T. Dr. Snelling filled a glass jug with the gasoline from the Ford Model T and discovered on his way back to the lab that volatile vapors were forming in the jug, causing its cork to repeatedly pop out. He began experimenting with these vaporous gases to find methods to control and hold them. After dividing the gas into its liquid and gaseous components, he learned that propane was one component of the liquefied gas mixture. He soon learned that this propane component could be used for lighting, metal cutting and cooking.

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See also

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External links


 
Alkanes

methane
CH4

|
 

ethane
C2H6

|
 

propane
C3H8

|
 

butane
C4H10

|
 

pentane
C5H12

|
 

hexane
C6H14

heptane
C7H16

|
 

octane
C8H18

|
 

nonane
C9H20

|
 

decane
C10H22

|
 

undecane
C11H24

|
 

dodecane
C12H26

 

fi:Malline:Alkaanitar:بروبان ca:Propà cs:Propan da:Propan de:Propan el:Προπάνιο es:Propano eo:Propano fr:Propane it:Propano la:Propanum lb:Propan lt:Propanas nl:Propaan ja:プロパン no:Propan nn:Propan pl:Propan pt:Propano ru:Пропан sr:Пропан sv:Propan tr:Propan

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