Knowledge Base

Liquefied petroleum gas or liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as fuel in heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles. Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are mostly propane (C 3H8), mostly butane (C4H10), and, most commonly, mixes including both propane and butane. LPG is prepared by refining petroleum or "wet" natural gas, and is almost entirely derived from fossil fuel sources, being manufactured during the refining of petroleum (crude oil), or extracted from petroleum or natural gas streams as they emerge from the ground.

LPG is used for cooking in many countries for economic reasons, for convenience or because it is the preferred fuel source.   LPG can be stored in a variety of manners. LPG, as with other fossil fuels, can be combined with renewable power sources to provide greater reliability while still achieving some reduction in CO2 emissions.

Commercially available LPG is currently derived mainly from fossil fuels. Burning LPG releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The reaction also produces some carbon monoxide. LPG does, however, release less CO2 2 per unit of energy than does coal or oil, but more than natural gas. It emits 81% of the CO2 per kWh produced by oil, 70% of that of coal, and less than 50% of that emitted by coal-generated electricity distributed via the grid.

Being a mix of propane and butane, LPG emits less carbon per joule than butane but more carbon per joule than propane. LPG burns more cleanly than higher molecular weight hydrocarbons because it releases fewer particulates.