Product potential
Green and economy Energy
LPG provides environmentally friendly, economic energy:
in nature, it is associated to oil and methane in underground and underwater deposits, and simple operations are sufficient to separate it, store it, transport it and deliver it to the end user. In 1986, approximately half of the LPG consumed throughout the world was obtained from the separation of oil or natural gas and that percentage continues to rise.
The spread of LPG has led to the abolition of the charcoal houses that infested woodlands and gradually reduced the extent of forests, which were increasingly vulnerable when faced with the growing need for firewood for heating and charcoal commonly used in kitchens.
Through comparisons, it has been calculated that between 1950 and 1975, the calories consumed with LPG by millions of families for domestic use prevented the destruction of almost 300 million plants such as beech and oak trees. Environmental pollution lies before they eyes of us all: resolving this problem is one of the main objectives pursued by the industrialised world.
Atmospheric pollution, which is caused, above all, by the action of particulate (black fumes), carbon oxide, sulphur dioxide and nitric dioxides (which cause acid rain), has now impaired the environmental balance of many areas of Europe. With LPG, we do not run the risk of increasing it.
LPG combustion gases do not raise the level of atmospheric pollution, which is dangerous for the health of humans forced to breathe acid gases, dusts, non-combusted products and heavy metal (lead) residues, which are particularly harmful and can be carcinogenic. Furthermore, the exhaust fumes from motor vehicles powered by LPG do not cause harm to our architectural heritage, as they do not contain sulphuric dioxide.
Experiences conducted in other countries have made it possible to evaluate the enormous importance that LPG plays as a private and public transport fuel in large cities, where it contributes to drastically reducing air pollution levels. In 1987, LPG accounted for approximately 2% of all the energy consumed in Italy.
This figure could be increased through the commitment of Italian companies working in the sector and with the support of careful energy policy choices, aimed at a more decisive protection of the environment.
Some 50 years from its introduction on to the Italian market, LPG is called on to satisfy a spectrum of applications ranging from domestic use for cooking food to heating, from farming to industry, from artisan use to hospitality services and the building trade, from transport fuel to petrochemical applications.
Even within a specific sector, it is used in a whole host of different ways: for instance, in agriculture, it is used to dry cereals immediately after harvesting, in the conditioning and carbon fertilisation of greenhouses. It also offers outstanding performance when used for drying tobacco, cotton and fodder.
LPG is also used in poultry and pig breeding where it is used to create warm areas in order to favour a better and more rapid growth of the livestock. Another interesting use in the agricultural field is flame cultivation, a valid alternative to the use of chemical weed-killer for controlling weeds that harm crops.
Despite being expensive, this application makes it possible to efficaciously defend human health and the environment, because it eliminates the risk of polluting groundwater, unlike atrazine, which has been adequately documented in scientific literature owing to an indiscriminate use of chemical weed-killer.
The multitude of potential uses of LPG in the hospitality and restaurant trade has contributed to developing tourism in holiday resorts; the ease with which it can be transported, even in “cartridge” form has favoured the increased popularity of novel ways of passing one’s leisure time in contact with nature, in tents or in the more organised forms of camping. Caravans, campers and pleasure boats are all fitted with LPG equipment.
In industry, too there are a multitude of uses for LPG, where it can be applied in all cases where a fuel that does not leave combustion residues is required, such as in the processes of the paper, textile, ceramics and glassmaking industries and in the many uses of the metalworking industry.
In Italy, immediately after the Second World War, domestic use of LPG created a considerable economic and social turning point when it replaced charcoal slack in millions of kitchens and reached even the smallest towns and villages, on the flatlands and in the mountains alike.
The successful introduction of small LPG tanks, together with that of wall-mounted gas boilers, was favoured by the considerable economic savings enjoyed by consumers, who only had to pay for what they consumed.
In the motoring fuel sector, LPG is increasingly popular as a high-performance, pollutant-free fuel that is therefore ideal for both public and private transport requirements. Currently, in Italy, more than one million vehicles use this fuel. It should be remembered that LPG has one of the highest heat output coefficients and in weight terms it boasts the highest calorific value of all gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
The use of small tanks (from 1 to 5m3) filled at home by dedicated tank lorries, which over the last decade have replaced the cylinder units, have led to a considerable saving on transport costs.
Despite ongoing research and the commitment of the businesses that work in the sector, it is still not possible to claim that LPG has exhausted all its potential applications. Its history is characterised by continuous and always novel applications, by the most cutting-edge uses and by the perfecting of known uses.
Continuing along this road would undoubtedly guarantee a substantial improvement of quality of life for us all. Amongst the various possibilities, we must not overlook the various energy cogeneration processes (use of a source of energy that, through a combustion process creates two or more types of final energy: for example, electricity and heat energy), where LPG proves to be an extremely well suited fuel.
Cogeneration favours the maximum use of the latent energy contained in a fuel and consequently a saving of energy.
One particularly current issue is the use of propane and butane as propellants, rather than freon, in the very broad category of consumer packed goods that are nebulised (spray cans). As we are all aware, scientists believe that freon is responsible for attacks on the consistency of the layer of ozone that protects the atmosphere.
In the transport sector, LPG would appear to be the most valid alternative to unleaded petrol. The positive experiences of other countries allow us to classify LPG as an optimal fuel for combating the inconvenience caused by atmospheric pollution in cities with heavy traffic flows.
in nature, it is associated to oil and methane in underground and underwater deposits, and simple operations are sufficient to separate it, store it, transport it and deliver it to the end user. In 1986, approximately half of the LPG consumed throughout the world was obtained from the separation of oil or natural gas and that percentage continues to rise.
The spread of LPG has led to the abolition of the charcoal houses that infested woodlands and gradually reduced the extent of forests, which were increasingly vulnerable when faced with the growing need for firewood for heating and charcoal commonly used in kitchens.
Through comparisons, it has been calculated that between 1950 and 1975, the calories consumed with LPG by millions of families for domestic use prevented the destruction of almost 300 million plants such as beech and oak trees. Environmental pollution lies before they eyes of us all: resolving this problem is one of the main objectives pursued by the industrialised world.
Atmospheric pollution, which is caused, above all, by the action of particulate (black fumes), carbon oxide, sulphur dioxide and nitric dioxides (which cause acid rain), has now impaired the environmental balance of many areas of Europe. With LPG, we do not run the risk of increasing it.
LPG combustion gases do not raise the level of atmospheric pollution, which is dangerous for the health of humans forced to breathe acid gases, dusts, non-combusted products and heavy metal (lead) residues, which are particularly harmful and can be carcinogenic. Furthermore, the exhaust fumes from motor vehicles powered by LPG do not cause harm to our architectural heritage, as they do not contain sulphuric dioxide.
Experiences conducted in other countries have made it possible to evaluate the enormous importance that LPG plays as a private and public transport fuel in large cities, where it contributes to drastically reducing air pollution levels. In 1987, LPG accounted for approximately 2% of all the energy consumed in Italy.
This figure could be increased through the commitment of Italian companies working in the sector and with the support of careful energy policy choices, aimed at a more decisive protection of the environment.
Some 50 years from its introduction on to the Italian market, LPG is called on to satisfy a spectrum of applications ranging from domestic use for cooking food to heating, from farming to industry, from artisan use to hospitality services and the building trade, from transport fuel to petrochemical applications.
Even within a specific sector, it is used in a whole host of different ways: for instance, in agriculture, it is used to dry cereals immediately after harvesting, in the conditioning and carbon fertilisation of greenhouses. It also offers outstanding performance when used for drying tobacco, cotton and fodder.
LPG is also used in poultry and pig breeding where it is used to create warm areas in order to favour a better and more rapid growth of the livestock. Another interesting use in the agricultural field is flame cultivation, a valid alternative to the use of chemical weed-killer for controlling weeds that harm crops.
Despite being expensive, this application makes it possible to efficaciously defend human health and the environment, because it eliminates the risk of polluting groundwater, unlike atrazine, which has been adequately documented in scientific literature owing to an indiscriminate use of chemical weed-killer.
The multitude of potential uses of LPG in the hospitality and restaurant trade has contributed to developing tourism in holiday resorts; the ease with which it can be transported, even in “cartridge” form has favoured the increased popularity of novel ways of passing one’s leisure time in contact with nature, in tents or in the more organised forms of camping. Caravans, campers and pleasure boats are all fitted with LPG equipment.
In industry, too there are a multitude of uses for LPG, where it can be applied in all cases where a fuel that does not leave combustion residues is required, such as in the processes of the paper, textile, ceramics and glassmaking industries and in the many uses of the metalworking industry.
In Italy, immediately after the Second World War, domestic use of LPG created a considerable economic and social turning point when it replaced charcoal slack in millions of kitchens and reached even the smallest towns and villages, on the flatlands and in the mountains alike.
The successful introduction of small LPG tanks, together with that of wall-mounted gas boilers, was favoured by the considerable economic savings enjoyed by consumers, who only had to pay for what they consumed.
In the motoring fuel sector, LPG is increasingly popular as a high-performance, pollutant-free fuel that is therefore ideal for both public and private transport requirements. Currently, in Italy, more than one million vehicles use this fuel. It should be remembered that LPG has one of the highest heat output coefficients and in weight terms it boasts the highest calorific value of all gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
The use of small tanks (from 1 to 5m3) filled at home by dedicated tank lorries, which over the last decade have replaced the cylinder units, have led to a considerable saving on transport costs.
Despite ongoing research and the commitment of the businesses that work in the sector, it is still not possible to claim that LPG has exhausted all its potential applications. Its history is characterised by continuous and always novel applications, by the most cutting-edge uses and by the perfecting of known uses.
Continuing along this road would undoubtedly guarantee a substantial improvement of quality of life for us all. Amongst the various possibilities, we must not overlook the various energy cogeneration processes (use of a source of energy that, through a combustion process creates two or more types of final energy: for example, electricity and heat energy), where LPG proves to be an extremely well suited fuel.
Cogeneration favours the maximum use of the latent energy contained in a fuel and consequently a saving of energy.
One particularly current issue is the use of propane and butane as propellants, rather than freon, in the very broad category of consumer packed goods that are nebulised (spray cans). As we are all aware, scientists believe that freon is responsible for attacks on the consistency of the layer of ozone that protects the atmosphere.
In the transport sector, LPG would appear to be the most valid alternative to unleaded petrol. The positive experiences of other countries allow us to classify LPG as an optimal fuel for combating the inconvenience caused by atmospheric pollution in cities with heavy traffic flows.
