How is LPG Made?  What is the Production Process?

LPG is made during natural gas processing and oil refining.

LPG is separated from unprocessed natural gas using refrigeration.

LPG is extracted from heated crude oil using a distillation tower.

This LPG can be used as is or separated into its three primary parts: propane, butane and isobutane.

It is stored pressurised, as a liquid, in cylinders or tanks.

LPG is Refined from Oil & Natural Gas

LPG is produced during natural gas processing and petroleum refining.

Propane does not occur naturally in isolation. 

LPG processing involves separation and collection of the gas from its petroleum base. 

LPG is isolated from the hydrocarbon mixtures by separation from natural gasor by the refining of crude oil.

Both processes begin by drilling oil wells. 

The gas/oil mixture is piped out of the well and into a gas trap, which separates the stream into crude oil and "wet" gas, which contains LPG and natural gas.

The heavier crude oil sinks to the bottom of the trap and is then pumped into an oil storage tank for refining. 

Crude oil undergoes a variety of refining processes, including catalytic cracking, crude distillation, and others.  

One of the refined products is LPG.

The "wet" gas, off the top of the gas trap, is processed to separate the gasoline (petrol) from the natural gas and LPG. 

Once refined, LPG is stored as a liquid under pressure in gas bottles - cylinders or tanks. 45kg gas bottles shown below:

The natural gas, which is mostly methane, is piped to towns and cities for distribution by gas utility companies. 

The petrol is shipped to service stations.

The LPG also enters the distribution network, where it eventually finds its way to end users, including Home LPG and Commercial LPG users all around Australia and the world.

At the point of use it once again becomes a gas.

What is LPG Used For?  Make Use of LPG Fuel & more…

Most people make use of LPG as a heating gas at home, in their cars or for their business. It is utilised to produce LPG heating, cooking and hot water at home.

LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas – has hundreds, if not thousands, of LPG uses including hot air balloons

It is used in leisure time activities including caravans, boats, recreational vehicles and camping.

Business and industry use LPG fuel for a multitude of processes including steam boilers, kilns, ovens and LPG forklifts.

It is also employed as a propellant, refrigerant, vehicle fuel and petrochemical feedstock.

Crop and produce drying, heating greenhouses, hot water for dairies, irrigation pumps and heating animal enclosures are just some of the agricultural applications for LPG.

LPG fuel for transport is also a big user of LPG (Autogas).

It can be either as propane or propane mixed with butane, to power various vehicle types.

There are also many, many more LPG applications, including power generation and the hospitality industry.

Cooking Gas is an LPG Fuel

Cooking gas is no different from the typical gas provided in a given country.

If it is bottled gas, it is the regular LPG heating gas supplied in that country.

If it is piped gas, it is most often natural gas, which is primarily methane.

LPG Fuel – Which Gas or Gases are Present in LPG?

LPG fuel is not just a single gas. 

There are a number of gases that fall under the LPG fuel type category.

The most common of these include propane, butane (n-butane) and isobutane (i-butane), as well as mixtures of these gases.

Other gases that also fall under the “LPG” label, including ethane, ethylene, propylene, butylene and isobutylene, as well as mixtures of these gases.

In Australia, LPG is propane.

In the USA it is also propane and they call it "propane" instead of "LPG".

In New Zealand, LPG is a mixture of propane and butane.

In the UK, consumers have choices.  It is referred to as either propane, butane or LPG, depending on what gas is present in the customer's choice.

LPG (Propane) Vaporisation - How LPG Boils

Did you know that every time you turn on one of your gas appliances, the LPG in your gas bottles starts to boil?

If you could see though the steel, you would also notice that it looks just like water boiling.

The big difference is that it happens at -42°C or -44°F.

Liquid LPG changing to gas vapour is called vaporisation.

To boil, the liquid LPG draws heat from the steel walls of the gas bottle which, in turn, get heat from the ambient air.

LPG liquid boils and turns back into gas vapour when you release some of the pressure in the gas bottle by turning on your gas appliance.

As with water, the more heat that is applied, the more rapidly it boils, vaporising at a faster rate.

The vapour pressure in the bottle also increases with temperature, as explained below.

So, as the steel of the bottle draws heat from the ambient air heat, cold weather will slow down the rate of vaporisation.

Vaporisation also makes the gas bottle feel colder than the ambient temperature.

The gas bottle gets even colder when you are actually using the gas.

The LPG gas vapour is held in the top of the bottle and the liquid LPG at the bottom, as shown in the image above.

Almost all of the uses for LPG involve the use of the gas vapour, not the liquefied gas