Explore the benefits of propane fuel gas for fast, controllable heating combined with high energy density per unit volume.
Propane Fuel Gas
Narrowest Flammability Range of Any of the Commonly Available Fuel Gases
Improve hazard control and handling safety thanks to a low flammability range combined with fast, controllable and flexible heating.
Properties of Propane Fuel Gas
Propane (C3H8) is a colorless and highly flammable liquefied gas with both a primary and secondary flash temperature. It has the narrowest flammability range of any of the commonly available fuel gases. Its explosive limits in air lie between 2.2% and 9.5%.
Propane belongs to a single-bond group of hydrocarbons, which means it produces a flame with a moderately high temperature with either oxygen or air. As propane needs heat energy to decompose the molecule, the inner cone is larger and the heat distribution within it is lower, leading to slower heating rates. By way of comparison, the flame temperature of an oxy-propane flame is thus lower than that of acetylene. So although the primary propane flame releases less BTU (British thermal units) than acetylene, which increases preheat time, it releases the heat over a much wider area. This makes propane suitable for general heating of larger components and entire workpieces.
It is one of the main components in liquid petroleum gas (LPG) along with butane. As the ratios of these LPG gases vary from one supplier to another, the flame properties can also differ.
Also known as autogas, propane is popular as a clean fuel for indoor vehicles, such as forklift trucks, where petrol fumes or soot would be undesirable.
Its suitability is limited in certain confined spaces. As propane is heavier than air, any gas leaks will flow to the lowest level and collect in trenches, ducts and drains, where they can present an explosion hazard.
As a constituent of natural gas, it is obtained by refining and processing natural gas.
Benefits of Propane Fuel Gas at a Glance
- High energy density per unit volume for ease of transport and storage
- Ease of liquefaction - propane liquefies under moderate pressure for compact storage footprint
- High heating value with hot, powerful flame ideal for industrial heating and metal fabrication processes
- Fast, controllable heating suited to burners, heaters, furnaces and infrared heating systems
- Flexible outdoor and on-site solution for mobile equipment and temporary installations
What is Propane Fuel Gas Used for?
Clean burning characteristics make propane ideal for a wide range of industrial and agricultural applications. Propane is one of the most widely used gases for heating and cutting in the metal fabrication industry. Propane is particularly suited to heating processes where a wide flame spread is required. As the majority of its energy is produced in its secondary flame, this make propane suitable for oxygen-fuel gas spraying.
An oxy-propane flame is most commonly used for cutting metals such as carbon and alloy steels. On a profile cutting machine, oxy-propane gives fast, clean cuts on thick plates, especially if cutting is started at the edge of the plate. This gas mixture is particularly easy to control and set, even in the hands of a less skilled operator.
Other metal fabrication applications include flame treatment. Oxy-propane combined with very large nozzles can heat components quickly, which is ideally suited to heating a whole workpiece because of the wide flame spread. This fuel gas may be used with air for certain lower-temperature applications such as brazing, soldering and preheating.
In the iron and steel industry, propane-powered burners are used in heat treatment furnaces and in radiation panels for surface treatment.
In cases where cut quality is not a key concern, propane may be a cost-effective choice of fuel gas. It is commonly used by scrap yards, for instance, to cut carbon steel where the cut quality is less critical and the large volume of fuel gas per cylinder is a key benefit.
Propane is also used as a fuel to power hot air generators used in farming for drying harvests and for heating greenhouses and livestock sheds. Other agricultural applications include flame-weeding and pest control. In the chemical industry, propane is employed to power burners in ceramic kilns as well as incinerators in petrochemical furnaces.
Propane is a popular fuel gas for heating industrial premises and residential areas, for cooking in hotels and restaurants, and for heating outdoor areas such as construction sites and markets. In roadworks, for instance, tar is often melted in a large boiler heated by a propane cylinder for use on roofs and road repairs that benefit from the large capacity of cylinders and controllable propane-air induced burners.
It is also employed in its pure form as the fuel gas in flame photometers.
As a specialty gas, it is used in mixtures to calibrate process control analyzers in the petrochemical industry. It is also employed as a refrigerant and in refrigerant blends and as an aerosol propellant. Other applications include controlled atmospheres in metallurgy, the production of various chemicals, efficiency testing of gas burners and engines, and calibration gas mixtures.
Propane Supply Options
We supply propane in cylinders and drum tanks in purity grades from 1.5 (i.e. ≥95%) to 3.5 (i.e. purity ≥99.95%) for different application needs.