About LPGLiquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is the generic name for mixtures of hydrocarbons (mainly propane and butane). When these mixtures are lightly compressed (approx. 800 kPa or 120 psi), they change from a gaseous state to a liquid. LPG is colourless, odourless and heavier than air. A sulphur based chemical (ethyl mercaptan) is added to give it a smell like rotten cabbage, so that even a very small leak can be easily detected.
LPG burns readily in air and has energy content similar to petrol, which makes it an excellent fuel for heating, cooking and for automotive use.
LPG is a clean, convenient energy source, which can be stored as a liquid under moderately high pressure and used as a gas in commercial and residential heating applications. In Australia as in North America almost all the LPG used in domestic and recreational applications is 100% propane. However, LPG Autogas dispensed at service stations for vehicles, usually contains a mix of propane and butane. LPG Autogas must not be used in leisure or residential cylinder applications because Australian appliances are designed for 100% propane only and not the autogas blend.
Household Use
In much of regional and rural Australia the only way to 'cook with gas' is to cook with LPG. LPG piping inside a house is the same as for reticulated natural gas and must comply with the AG601 Gas Installation Code and must be installed by a licensed gas fitter (listed under 'gas fitters' in the Yellow Pages). Every appliance design must be certified under the AGA / ALPGA appliance approval scheme specifically for use with propane.The LPG is stored outside the home, usually in one or two cylinders (45 kg capacity). These cylinders can either be filled where they stand by a delivery truck, or the gas supplier collects the empty cylinder and exchanges it with a filled cylinder. AG 601 specifies larger minimum clearances from windows and possible ignition sources for cylinders filled from a delivery truck than exchange cylinders.
Recreational Use
Because LPG is easily transported, it is a popular energy source on boats and in caravans. AG 601 has specific installation requirements for installing cylinders on boats and in caravans or campervans. The cylinders used in boats and caravans are much smaller than those fixed outside the home and are only 9 kg capacity. These 9 kg and smaller cylinders popular in barbecues, camping stoves and lamps are usually filled by decanting LPG from a storage cylinder, (for example a 190 kg storage tank at a service station - not the Autogas bowser). In domestic, caravan, marine and barbecue applications the moderately high pressure inside the cylinder is not applied directly to piping or to appliances. Instead a 'regulator' is used to control the pressure to a steady low level. Camping stoves and lamps, however, may be designed to operate directly on cylinder pressure and some use non-refillable LPG containers.
Other Uses
There are many other applications for LPG, with more uses being discovered all the time! Most other applications involve the direct production of heat, for example: * The Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch
* Hot air balloons
* Cigarette lighters
* Brazing and cutting metal (similar to oxy-acetylene)
* Pottery kilns and baking ovens
* Heating chicken sheds
* Flame weeding
See the information sheets section in Information Network for sheets on Safe Handling. For properties and information about the chemical structure of Autogas see our information sheets.
