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A three-carbon alkane,
propane is sometimes derived from other petroleum products
during oil or natural gas processing.
Chemical Formula: C3H8
Lewis Structure:
H H H
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H-C-C-C-H
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H H H
When commonly sold as fuel, it is also known as liquified petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) and is a mixture of propane with smaller amounts of
propylene, butane and butylene,
plus an ethyl mercaptan odorant to allow
the normally odorless propane to be smelled. It is used as fuel in cooking on many barbecues and portable stoves and in motor vehicles.
Propane powers some buses, forklifts, and taxis and is used for heat and cooking in recreational vehicles and campers. In many rural areas of
the US, propane is also used in furnaces, water heaters, laundry dryers, and other heat-producing appliances. Delivery trucks
fill up large tanks that are permanently installed on the property (sometimes called pigs) or exchange bottles of
propane.
See also
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