In the oil and gas industry,commercial viability of a product depends on economic considerations of marketability of the product.The marketable products can be naturally occurring or is often a byproduct of refining and/or chemical process.Marketability of a product is impacted by cost of processing,handing,transportation,dispensing,safety precautions,storage,quality control,etc.If a product is deemed commercially unmarketable,it is often disposed,internally used for heat generation,or flared.Liquefied Petroleum Gases(LPG) are one of those hydrocarbon liquids that pose very complex difficulties in storage,handling,and measurement accuracy.Hence,historically LPG byproduct was treated as a nuisance by many companies in the petroleum industry and was disposed,burned as plant's internal heating fuel,or flared.With increasing production of natural gas and demand and cost of energy resources,the marketability of LPG has become an economically viable commodity.Increasing cost versus profitability of the petroleum industry and expanding demand for energy,there are consorted efforts to market LPG and overcome the known difficulties of storage,transportation,safety issues,handling,and accurately measuring the LPG products.Increasing demand for LPG led to building more terminals to market the product.Historically,LPG was generated at the gas production,gathering,and separation facility that are connected to the natural gas liquid market.With increasing volumes of LPG being separated at the wellhead and market value of LPG being significantly higher than natural gas,the separation facilities are reaching their allocated volume of the connected pipelines.Hence,other means of transportation for LPG has evolved and transportation by trucks has become economically viable alternative for transporting LPG products to the distribution centers or users.Natural Gas Liquid(NGL) is composed of ethane,propane,butanes,and other heavier natural gasoline products.Also included in the LPG products are diluents like CO2(carbon dioxide),H2S(hydrogen sulfide),etc.All major components of LPG have extremely low flash point and high BTU value.Hence,LPG vapor ignite easily and while burning,generate extremely high heat.So,safety is of primary concern when handing and transporting LPG.Under pressure,LPG is a colorless and odorless liquid and when released in the atmosphere,it readily vaporize and the vapor being heavier than air,it mixes with air and remain close to the ground.Released LPG vapor cloud may not be visible to the naked eye,as visibility of LPG vapor cloud depends on the ambient conditions-humidity,temperature,and wind speed.The LPG vapor mixed with oxygen in the air is extremely flammable and dangerous.Therefore,all ignition sources must be kept away from the area,where LPG may be released.Possible ignition sources for LPG vapor mixtures are open flame; electrical sparks,running vehicle,static electricity,etc.Details of precautions against each of these possible ignition sources are discussed later.
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