Description
Liquefied petroleum gas, also called LPG, GPL, LP Gas, liquid
petroleum gas or simply propane, is a flammable mixture of
hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and
vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant and a
refrigerant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons in an effort to reduce
damage to the ozone layer. When specifically used as a vehicle fuel
it is often referred to as autogas.
Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are primarily
propane (C3H8), primarily butane (C4H*0) and, most commonly, mixes
including both propane and butane, depending on the season — in
winter more propane, in summer more butane. Propylene and butylenes
are usually also present in small concentration. A powerful
odorant, ethanethiol, is added so that leaks can be detected
easily.
This is a product of petroleum gases; principally propane and
butane, it must be stored under pressure to keep it in a liquid
state; it is often stored in metal cylinders (bottled gas) and used
as fuel for tractors, trucks, and buses, and as a domestic cooking
or heating fuel in rural areas.
Petroleum gases (usually butane and propane) stored and transported
as liquid under pressure.
