The Top Five Uses of Propane
When most people think of propane, most consumers immediately think of the classic gas grill tank that they use to fire up their afternoon cookout or small cylinders that fuel other products. While it’s true that gas grills are a big application, here are some of the places we find propane in our everyday lives.
Manufacturing
Many facilities that utilize generators are powered by propane. The petrochemical industry, in particular, uses propane in the manufacturing of plastics such as polyethylene. Reduced down in its liquid state, it helps make the most common plastic in the world. Polyethylene is used to make things like single use packaging, bottles, and even clothing.
Transportation
A use that is not commonly known- propane has been used as a transportation fuel for over 100 years. It is now the third most used fuel behind gasoline and diesel. You can find it fueling things like buses, recreational vehicles and skid steers in both public and private transportation. Yet, in the manufacturing and warehousing space, you will find millions of fork lifts that do the heavy work of lifting both machine and product each and every day across the globe
Refrigeration
Most people think of propane as a heating gas. Yet, it is widely used as a refrigerant gas in off the grid uses. The US EPA has recently chosen propane as a solid replacement to fluorinated gases due to their low global warming effect, in certain systems that are designed to address its flammability.
Metals
Propane is being used in the metals industry specifically for the high temperatures it reaches for melting different types of metals. Metals such as: brass, bronze, aluminum to name a few are melted by propane at a high temp (1980 degrees C). Gold and silver, melted in crucibles, use propane in furnaces for the same reason in the jewelry industry.
Residential
Beyond natural gas and electric, propane is being used to warm homes and fuel indoor appliances across the US. In rural areas, propane is used in more than 90% of the homes that are heated. And according to Forbes®, over 62% of American homes have an outdoor gas grill. So there are literally millions of cylinders of propane firing up and helping to make great family moments and memories.
Propane, either in various manufacturing environments or residential uses, is an enabling gas that is versatile, safe, economical and efficient.
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