10 Cool Propane Facts You May Not Have Heard

If you’re an Irish Propane customer (or have plans to become one), you’re probably already aware of the many great benefits that propane offers as one of the most versatile and powerful home fuels around.

But how well do you really know propane?

Propane Science

Here are 10 facts you might not know about clean, green propane gas:

1. Propane was initially discovered dissolved in Pennsylvania light crude by Edmund Ronalds in 1864, but its success as a commercial fuel was secured thanks to the efforts of Dr. Walter O. Snelling – a safety and explosives expert for the U.S. Bureau of Mines.
2. Propane is a by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining; its chemical formula is C3H8.
3. In its natural state, propane is colorless and odorless; an odorant (usually ethyl mercaptan, which smells like rotten eggs) is added for safety’s sake.
4. Propane is 270 times more compact as a liquid than as a gas – which is why it is stored and transported as a liquid.
5. Propane won’t ignite when combined with air until the source of ignition reaches 940 degrees Fahrenheit – which is why it’s safe to transport in tanks.
6. Propane is one of the lightest, simplest hydrocarbons in existence. As a result, it is one of the cleanest burning of all fuels – so clean, in fact, that propane is not considered a greenhouse gas.
7. Propane is the only alternative fuel listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act and the National Energy Policy Act of 1992.
8. Although some propane is produced from crude oil refinement, most domestically produced propane is a byproduct of domestic natural gas processing.
9. The propane fuel you buy is not 100 percent propane gas; it’s about 90 percent propane plus odorant, propylene, and about 9 percent butane.
10. Nearly 90 percent of the U.S. propane supply is produced domestically; almost three-quarters of the remaining 10 percent is produced in Canada or Mexico.

Propane – discover its many uses and benefits for your Buffalo or Rochester home or business! Contact us today to learn more.