Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as propane, is a nonrenewable gaseous fossil fuel, which turns to liquid under moderate pressure. LPG, a by-product of natural gas processing and oil refining, includes various mixtures of hydrocarbons. The type of LPG used as a motor vehicle fuel is a liquid mixture containing at least 90 percent propane, 2.5 percent butane and higher hydrocarbons, and the balance is ethane and propylene. The mixture is commonly called "propane" among general consumers, but motor vehicle operators using the fuel refer to it as LPG. In 1910, under the direction of Dr. Walter Snelling, the U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated gasoline to see why it evaporated so fast and discovered that the evaporating gases were propane, butane, and other light hydrocarbons. Dr. Snelling built a still that could separate the gasoline into its liquid and gaseous components and sold his propane patent to Frank Phillips, the founder of Phillips Petroleum Company. By 1912, propane gas was cooking food in the home. The first car powered by propane ran in 1913. By 1915 people were using propane in torches to cut through metal. LPG has been used as a transportation fuel, mainly in heavy trucks and forklift vehicles, around the world for more than 60 years. On December 28th , 1984, a preventable tragedy in the giant gas-works on the outskirts of Mexico City left 500 dead and public facilities crammed with injured people. The LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) was stored in massive million-gallon containers which was a disastrous mistake. The gas should have been stored in smaller receptacles in various locations to prevent a calamity like this occurring. On January 30, 2007, four people were killed and five others were seriously injured when propane vapors from a storage tank ignited and exploded at the Little General convenience store and gas station in Ghent, West Virginia. Propane was used as fuel inside the building, which was completely destroyed. The US Chemical Safety Board has produced an excellent DVD on this tragic incident, Half An Hour to Tragedy which is available for viewing and free downloading at http://proekt-gaz.ru/ . This clip is from the 1950s film, Progress Parade, made by the American Petroleum Industry (API). The entire film is available on the Internet Archive.
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