LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS

Overview:
Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG or liquid propane gas) is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons in an effort to reduce damage to the ozone layer. When specifically used as a vehicle fuel it is often referred to as autogas. Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are primarily propane (C3H8), primarily butane (C4H10) and, most commonly, mixes including both propane and butane, depending on the season in winter more propane, in summer more butane. Propylene and butylenes are usually also present in small concentration. A powerful odorant, ethanethiol, is added so that leaks can be detected easily. In the United States, thiophene oramyl mercaptan are also approved odorants. LPG is synthesized by refining petroleum or "wet" natural gas, and is usually derived from fossil fuel sources, being manufactured during the refining of crude oil, or extracted from oil or gas streams as they emerge from the ground. It was first produced in 1910 by Dr. Walter Snelling, and the first commercial products appeared in 1912. It currently provides about 3% of the energy consumed, and burns cleanly with no soot and very few sulfur emissions, posing no ground or water pollution hazards. LPG has a typical specific calorific value of 46.1 MJ/kg compared with 42.5 MJ/kg for fuel-oil and 43.5 MJ/kg for premium grade petrol (gasoline). However, its energy density per volume unit of 26 MJ/l is lower than either that of petrol or fuel-oil. LPG evaporates quickly at normal temperatures and pressures and is supplied in pressurized steel cylinders. They are typically filled to between 80% and 85% of their capacity to allow for thermal expansion of the contained liquid. The ratio between the volumes of the vaporized gas and the liquefied gas varies depending on composition, pressure, and temperature, but is typically around 250:1. The pressure at which LPG becomes liquid, called its vapour pressure, likewise varies depending on composition and temperature; for example, it is approximately 220 kilopascals (2.2 bar) for pure butane at 20 C (68 F), and approximately 2.2 megapascals (22 bar) (319 psi) for pure propane at 55 C (131 F). LPG is heavier than air, and thus will flow along floors and tend to settle in low spots, such as basements. This can cause ignition or suffocation hazards if not dealt with.

History:
LPG was a late developer in the oil and gas business. The history of LPG can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th Century. In the early production of gasoline, one problem faced was that gasoline quickly evaporated when in storage. In 1911, an American chemist, Dr. Walter Snelling, identified that the propane and butane within gasoline caused its evaporation. He soon developed a practical method of removing these gases from the gasoline. The first commercial production of LPG had to wait until the 1920's, while the first regional trade until the 1950's. The extensive use of LPG did not really develop until the 1940's through the 1960's. A large oil company introduced LPG to France in the mid 1930's. And a large gas company built a bottling plant in Italy, near Venice, in 1938. But developments then were cut off by the war. By the early 1950's, companies were producing LPG cylinders for household use and these were being marketed elsewhere under license. Growth proceeded at the pace of refinery availabilities. These expanded, particularly in the 1960's, as new refineries were built and fuel oil displaced coal as the industrial fuel. Europe-wide LPG sales increased from 300,000 tons in 1950, 3 million tons in 1960, and 11 million tons in 1970. Prior to the 1970's, LPG in international trade had been essentially a regional business, with each region having its own pricing structure, shipping, and buyers and sellers. The first regional trade, starting in the 1950's, had been from the US Gulf to South America. The oil crisis of 1973 was a turning point. Many oil rich countries built liquids recovery plants as they realized that the exports of LPG could generate a significant monetary return. The expansion of Middle East LPG capacity which occurred over the 1975-1985 decade was truly staggering - from a total of 6 million tons of installed capacity in 1975 to 17 million tons by 1980 and 30 million tons by 1985. It was not only in the Middle East that LPG plants were being built. Australia, Indonesia, Algeria, the North Sea, and Venezuela were also new sources of supply. The 1980's in fact turned out to be a period of tremendous LPG export expansion worldwide. The LPG market became truly global at this time. Producers needed buyers, whether they be in Asia, Europe, the United States, or South America. The new export volumes had to find outlets somewhere.

LPG Properties

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LPG is a liquid under pressure but a gas at ambient conditions. Vapour LPG is twice as heavy as Air. Liquid LPG is half as heavy as water. LPG is colorless. LPG has a low boiling point of -18oC. LPG has a narrow flammability range between 1.8 to 9.5% in air. Flash point of LPG is -76oF. The approximate minimum ignition temperature of LPG is in the range 410oC to 580oC. LPG is odourless. Ethyl Mercaptan is added as an odourant to detect LPG in case of leaks. LPG is non-toxic. It is lightly anaesthetic and can cause suffocation, if present in sufficiently high concentrations. Liquid LPG can cause severe cold burns to the skin owing to rapid vapourisation and the consequent lowering of temperature

Advantages of LPG
y y y y y y y y y Clean Burning No soot, burners have a longer life - so maintenance is low No spillage as it vaporises at atmospheric temperature and pressure. Effects of corrosion are greatly reduced Instantly controllable flame temperature Avoids Scaling and decarborising of parts Environmentally friendly fuel, with minimal sulphur content and sulphur- free emissions Very high efficiency with direct firing system Instant heat for faster warm-up and cool-down Can be used for a variety of applications

Typical LPG Specification

LPG Manufacturing
y Reservoir -drilling a production well into an underground reservoir is like sticking a pin in a balloon. Pressure in the reservoir provides the force needed to drive the gas to land. On the Seabed -output from wells in each template is piped to the pipeline manifold and gathered into a single wellstream for transport through the pipeline to land. Control signals, chemicals and power supplies from land are allocated to the templates via the control distribution unit. Pipeline -the flow through the main pipeline to land combines several phases. These are natural gas (including natural gas liquids NGL), condensate (light oil) and a mix of water and monoethyleneglycol (MEG used as an antifreeze). Slug Catcher - the arriving wellstream passes first into the slug catcher, designed to cope with possible slugs of water, which may have formed in the line. This ensures a steady flow into the process plant. Initial separation of the natural gas, NGLs, condensate and water/MEG mix also takes place here. MEG Recovery -monoethyleneglycol (MEG) is added to the wellstream as an antifreeze to inhibit the formation of hydrate (hydrocarbon ice). The liquid separated out in the slug catcher accordingly contains both MEG and water. It is treated to remove solid particles, salts and most of the water. After this treatment, the MEG gets recycled back to the field through a dedicated pipeline and returned to the wellstream. The water is filtered through a biological treatment system before being discharged to the sea. Inlet Facilities -the gas is heated on its way from the slug catcher to the separator in the receiving terminal to inhibit the formation of hydrate (a kind of hydrocarbon ice). Particles and residual condensate are removed in the gas separator, with the light oil being sent to another separator and the gas continuing for processing. Pre- Treatment -the gas must be pre-treated before it can be liquefied. This involves three stages: 1. CO2 removal Carbon dioxide must be removed to prevent it freezing to dry ice when natural gas is liquefied. This is done in the absorption column, where the carbon dioxide binds to an amine solution and separates from the natural gas. After separation from the carbon dioxide in another column, the amine is treated and returned to the process. 2. Dehydration the gas is saturated with water, which must be removed to prevent ice forming in the cooling process. This dewatering process occurs in three columns. 3. Mercury removal even very small quantities of mercury in the gas can damage metal equipment in later stages of the process, so this substance is removed.

Carbon Dioxide -to minimize emissions of this greenhouse gas, it will be stored in a separate underground formation in the field. Carbon dioxide is removed in the amine plant, dewatered, compressed and liquefied before being piped back to the field in a dedicated line. Fractionation -the heavier gas components NGL must be removed in a fractionation column to meet the sales specifications for the liquefied natural gas. After separation, they are further fractionated into products such as propane and butane known collectively as liquefied petroleum gases. LPG -the heavier hydrocarbons separated out initially pass through a series of fractionation columns for processing into liquefied petroleum gases primarily propane and butanes. Additional methane (natural gas) is the top product from the first column, while ethane is taken off at the top of the next. Pure propane is the top product of the third column. A mix of butanes and propane are taken off as a side flow from the propane column and stored in a tank for export. The bottom product is condensate (light oil), which goes into the plant s condensate system. LPG is used for heating and cooking, as fuel for ships and vehicles, and as feedstock for petrochemical industry. Transport -specialized ships carry the gas to terminals, and the receiving facilities at these terminals heat the gas up again, so that it can be used for electricity generation, space heating and cooking.