How is lpg created

Story of LPG. Watch all the stories. Natural Gas Processing. Oil Refining. Ocean Acidification. Rising Sea Level. Liquefied petroleum gas Figure 1.

An LPG cylinder. Figure 2. A vehicle's LPG tank. May 29, Cylinder Gas [Online]. June 2, Liquefied Petroleum Gases - Index [Online]. What is LPG? Furthermore, the target group 'poor households' which is a large potential customer group often targeted in international initiatives tends to dispose of too little income to afford LPG.

This will be discussed further below. The excess amount of LPG is thus often processed. A number of different steps are necessary between the raw form of LPG up to the final consumer. A sophisticated infrastructure is required for the distribution.

LPG either comes directly from gas wells or is a by-product of crude oil refining. Subsequently, it is delivered from supply points in a liquefied form to primary bulk storage facilities, where it is stored under refrigeration or pressurisation.

LPG for cooking is brought to cylinder filling plants. The cylinders are either owned by the bottling company or by distributers or by the consumers see below the different distribution systems. The filled cylinders are distributed to a network of intermediaries, who operate depots and the necessary transportation facilities. The cylinders are supplied to retail points, where they are sold to customers. Empty cylinders are either returned along the chain to the filling plant or directly brought to a filling station by the customer.

Figure 2. In CCCM the consumer owns the cylinder and is fully responsible for maintaining the cylinder. The consumer can refill it at any refilling station. Main disadvantag of the CCCM is a possible decline in cylinder safety, leading to an increased risk of fire and explosion accidents. In addition, the CCCM is susceptible for black market LPG activities by unlicensed and uncertified refilling businesses disregarding safety. Consumers can refill the cylinder only at authorized stations of the marketing company.

The consumer generally pays a deposit to obtain the first cylinder from authorized distributers, which is typically set below the cost of the cylinder, plus the purchase price of the LPG it contains. Empty cylinders are exchanged for a full cylinder of the same brand for the refill price.

Main disadvantages of BCRM are the often higher end consumer cost of the cylinder and the refilling and the exclusion of small enterprises from the LPG business. The selection of the type of fuel during cooking is contingent of several factors.

Factors influencing the decision are availability, affordability, habits and the usability of the fuel. The prevailing use of fire food in many developing countries is primarily because it is cheap often free and widely available. In the future wood will remain the primary cooking fuel for rural households [13]. An increase in LPG use could reduce the total amount of wood, coal and kerosene consumed.

This is the case in some cities where LPG is available. But households do not tend to fully replace one fuel by another. Instead, they use a mix of fuels and a specifif fuel is chosen according to availability, affordability and convenience. A typical cooking system which uses LPG is made up of a steel cylinder filled with LPG, a pressure controller, a tube connecting the cylinder to the pressure controller and the burner, and finally the burner itself.

The burner can consist of one or more cooking tops. The size of the system depends on the size of the cylinder. Cylinders exist in various sizes e. A survey in 20 countries showed that low-income countries households mainly use cylinders smaller than 6 kg [14]. Nevertheless, the majority of currently available LPG cylinders are larger up to This proves problematic for low-income households both in the acquisition as well as the recharge of LPG. The main advantages of LPG provision of low-income households in comparison to conventional fuels wood, wood charcoal are:.

This equates to 60 kg of LPG per capita and is equivalent to half of the current global production. These quantities are currently not available. A mix of the following strategies would therefore be required if 2 billion people were to be supplied with LPG as a cooking fuel:. Significant sums would have to be invested to develop these markets.

No reports are known that explore the necessary investment costs of developing an LPG market in-depth. Further research is needed in this field. Households require capital to buy hardware such as the LPG stove and the cylinder. Again, limited data exists that compares regional prices. This is a barrier for many households. Furthermore, households need to be able to pay the running costs for LPG.

A survey that explored the costs to the consumer in 20 countries found that large discrepancies exist. One kg of LPG costs between 0. Figure 3. The price of LPG is affected by taxes, subsidies and market distribution costs. LPG becomes cheaper when distribution routes are short or bought in bulk. Low-income households mostly live in remote rural areas and buy small amounts. This is a disadvantage in comparison to wood, which can be collected free of charge.

First off, how is LPG produced? Where does it come from? And what makes it different to other types of fuel? Keep reading to find out…. LPG has 2 main origins.

Traditionally, LPG was wasted and burnt off as an unwanted by-product of the production of other fuel sources. Commercial natural gas is made up primarily of methane, but also includes a mixture of several gases and liquids, including propane and butane. So, before natural gas is marketed, some of the natural gas liquids, including LPG, are separated out.

LPGs are produced at various stages of refinement, such as atmospheric distillation, reforming and cracking. After the oil and gas production rigs process the gas, the LPG is transported from the production site to large storage terminals, where it is kept at the ideal temperature. The LPG is then delivered by road, coastal tanker or pipeline to filling plants, and smaller storage areas for distribution.

At these smaller storage facilities, the LPG is transferred to pressurised tanks. Once in the cylindric tanks, LPG can be transported anywhere it is needed. Typically, it will be bought by retailers and fuel suppliers and sold to individual customers.