14 Facts About Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula.

Propane has lower volumetric energy density, but higher gravimetric energy density and burns more cleanly than gasoline and coal.

Propane gas has become a popular choice for barbecues and portable stoves because its low -42 °C boiling point makes it vaporise inside pressurised liquid containers.

Propane was discovered by the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot in 1857.

Propane is produced as a by-product of two other processes, natural gas processing and petroleum refining.

Propane undergoes combustion reactions in a similar fashion to other alkanes.

Propane combustion is much cleaner than that of coal or unleaded gasoline.

Propane is instrumental in providing off-the-grid refrigeration, as the energy source for a gas absorption refrigerator and is commonly used for camping and recreational vehicles.

Propane is used as fuel for small engines, especially those used indoors or in areas with insufficient fresh air and ventilation to carry away the more toxic exhaust of an engine running on gasoline or diesel fuel.

Propane is generally stored and transported in steel cylinders as a liquid with a vapor space above the liquid.

Propane containing too much propene is not suited for most vehicle fuels.

Propane is much more commonly used to fuel vehicles than is natural gas, because that equipment costs less.

Propane requires just 1, 220 kilopascals of pressure to keep it liquid at 37.

Propane has low toxicity since it is not readily absorbed and is not biologically active.