Propane from Natural Gas or Oil
Propane is an energy-rich gas, C3H8. It is one of the liquefied petroleum gases (LP-gases or LPGs) that are found mixed with natural gas and oil. Propane and other liquefied gases, including ethane and butane, are separated from natural gas at natural gas processing plants, or from crude oil at refineries. The amount of propane produced from natural gas and from oil is roughly equal.
Propane naturally occurs as a gas. However, at higher pressure or lower temperatures, it becomes a liquid. Because propane is 270 times more compact as a liquid than as a gas, it is transported and stored in its liquid state. Propane becomes a gas again when a valve is opened to release it from its pressurized container. When returned to normal pressure, propane becomes a gas so that we can use it.
Liquefied Petroleum Gases Were Discovered in 1912
Liquefied petroleum gases are mixtures of propane, ethane, butane, and other gases that are produced at natural gas processing plants and refineries. Fractionation plants then separate the liquids from each other.
LP-gases were discovered in 1912 when a U.S. scientist, Dr. Walter Snelling, discovered that these gases could be changed into liquids and stored under moderate pressure. The LP-gas industry got its start shortly before World War I when a problem in the natural gas distribution process occurred. A section of the pipeline in one natural gas field ran under a cold stream, and the coldness led to a lot of liquids building up in the pipeline, sometimes to the point of blocking the entire pipeline. Soon, engineers figured out a solution: facilities were built to cool and compress natural gas, and to separate the gases that could be turned into liquids (including propane and butane).