Propane Basics

Propane, also referred to as liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, is a gas that’s compressed and stored as a liquid. It’s primarily a byproduct of domestic natural gas processing and some crude oil refinement. Similar to natural gas, it’s nontoxic, colorless and virtually odorless (it also has odorant added so that it can be detected by smell).

How Propane is Used

Propane is used by millions of Americans in many sectors every day in a multitude of ways.
 

Residential Sector Use –

• Space Heating
• Water heating
• Cooking
• Clothes drying
• Fueling standby generators

Commercial Sector Use –

• Space heating
• Water heating
• Cooking
• Clothes drying
• Outdoor lighting
• Fueling Lawnmowers, forklifts, construction equipment

Industrial Sector Use –

• As a fuel for process heating
• In combined heat and power systems,
• Large-scale heating and cooking applications
• Drying and dehumidification
• Food processing
• Fueling furnaces and boilers

Agriculture Sector Use –

• Grain drying
• Irrigation engines
• Building heat
• Flame weed control

Transportation Sector Use –

• As a fuel for light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles
• As a fuel for school buses

How Propane Gets to Our Homes

Since propane is primarily a by-product of natural gas, it begins at the processing plant. Propane is extracted from other fuel components and compressed into a liquid for transport. From the processing plant, it is stored as a liquid underground until needed. Propane then leaves the storage facility and gets transported around the country through a network of pipelines, rail tank cars, tractor-trailers and barges. It reaches the distributor plant and stored in tanks. The local distributors then pump the propane from the tanks to delivery bobtail trucks to be delivered to customers.