FALCON ENERGY LOGISTICS

DID YOU KNOW?

Over 90% of the United States propane supply is produced domestically, making it a key local energy source.

The United States is a net exporter of propane, producing vastly more than it consumes and shipping large volumes abroad. US facilities produce more than 2 million barrels of propane a day.

About 70% of the imported propane comes via rail or pipeline from Canada and Mexico to meet regional and seasonal winter heating demands.

Propane, what is it?

Propane is a 3 carbon molecule that is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing.

Propane has the Chemical Formula: C3H8

Propane C3H8

How is Propane Produced?

Propane is not artificially manufactured, but rather separated out as a byproduct during natural gas processing and crude oil refining.

Natural Gas Processing

Raw natural gas is processed to remove impurities like propane, butane, and ethane to prevent them from condensing in pipelines. These hydrocarbons are then separated into individual products.

Crude Oil Refining

As crude oil is refined into gasoline and heating oil, propane is separated as a light hydrocarbon gas during the distillation process. It is then cooled and pressurized to condense into liquid propane.

How is Propane Sold?

Propane is also known as liquified petroleum gas

(LPG or LP gas)

Ethyl mercaptan is added as an odorant to allow the normally odorless propane to be smelled.

Propane is stored and transported as a liquid under pressure making it easy to store in bulk.

How is Propane Used?

20lb tanks are commonly used for outdoor gas grills, patio heaters, fire tables, camping trailers/RVs and more. These small tanks are convenient for easy transport by customers for swaps or refills.

500lb-1000lb tanks are used in many rural areas of the US where there is no access to natural gas pipelines. These larger tanks are designed to hold enough propane to heat a whole house, and run appliances like water heaters, laundry driers, gas stoves and pool heaters. Once installed, these larger tanks are refilled as needed from a propane transport company.

Chemical Properties of Propane

A clean-burning blue flame means fuel and oxygen are mixing properly to create complete combustion with little to no soot.

In the presence of excess oxygen, propane burns to form water and carbon dioxide.

C3H8 + 5 O2 → 3 CO2 + 4 H2O + heat

An Orange or Yellow flame signals incomplete combustion or the presence of soot (C) and carbon monoxide (CO).

When not enough oxygen is present for complete combustion, propane burns to also form carbon monoxide and/or carbon soot.

2 C3H8 + 7 O2 → 6CO + 8 H2O + heat

C3H8 + 2 O2 → 3C + 4 H2O + heat

The Difference Between Propane and Natural Gas

Natural gas can only get to your home through an underground pipeline. Chemically, Natural Gas is mostly methane (CH4) with small amounts of other gases like propane and ethane. Natural gas cannot be compressed into liquid at normal room temperature. To become a liquid, natural gas would need to be cooled to extreme sub-zero temperatures.

Propane gas is easier to move around because can be compressed and turned into a liquid at regular room temperature. It can then be easily transported by trucks and put inside large storage facilities, delivered to home propane tanks or used to fill the small portable tanks that are commonly sold at any convenience store.

The compression of propane can be compared to the air in a car tire, which gets squeezed to about two or three times normal air pressure. Gas in a propane tank gets squeezed about 100 times more than that. This is why even a small residential tank can provide a lot of propane gas for your home or a portable tank for your barbecue grill will last for weeks.

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