LPG - short for Liquified Petroleum Gas or Liquid Petroleum Gas - and also called LP Gas - is actually a term used to describe two flammable hydrocarbon Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), or even a mixture of the two.
In Australia, LPG is almost exclusively propane, whereas overseas it can be butane, propane or a mixture of both. LPG is also referred to as bottled gas, BBQ gas and camping gas. LPG is not the same as Natural Gas, which is primarily methane (CH4).
Like many other fossil fuels, LPG-propane is extracted from gas and oil wells. Around 60% of LPG-propane is derived from natural gas processing in LPG extraction plants, with the remaining 40% of LPG-propane derived from the crude oil refining process.
This post provides a complete guide to the safe storage and handling of LPG stored under pressure in cylinders or tanks, as outlined in the Australian Standards AS/NZS 1596:2014 The storage and handling of LP Gas and AS 4332-2004 The storage and handling of gases in cylinders.
LPG is used all around the world for thousands of applications, in commercial businesses, industry, transportation, farming and agriculture, power and energy generation, cooking, heating and for recreation activities such as camping.
Liquified Petroleum Gas, or LPG, is used in thousands of applications, including portable outdoor heating
More than 300 million tonnes of LPG are consumed each year by more than a billion people across all six continents, including the remote bases in Antarctica.
In Australia, we primarily use propane LPG, which has a lower boiling point than butane (-42C vs -0.4C for butane), making it more suitable in colder conditions. Although we do use butane for fire-lighters and candle lighters due to its superior performance as a propellant (thanks to its lower vapour pressure vs propane).
Australian homes use LPG for gas heating, gas hot water heaters, and cooking gas cylinders, typically when natural gas - or mains gas - is not available, as is the case in many rural and regional areas far from a mains gas network.
In the workplace, LPG is used in commercial and agricultural heat applications, including petrochemical feedstock, aerosol propellants, air conditioning refrigerant and fuel for generators.
LPG is also used as a fuel for vehicles - called Autogas - mainly because it is cheaper than either petrol or diesel and produces less CO2 and particulate emissions.
SECTOR | HOW LPG IS USED IN AUSTRALIA |
---|---|
Residential | Cooking, BBQs, hot water, indoor/outdoor heating |
Energy | Generators, gas turbines, cogeneration (electricity and heating), trigeneration (electricity, heating and cooling) |
Transport | Taxis, public transport (buses), commercial vehicles, recreational vehicles, boats |
Recreation | Recreational vehicles, boats, hot air balloons, camping and camp grounds, caravans and caravan parks, ice rink resurfacing |
Hospitality | Restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafés, clubs |
Industry | Forklifts, ovens, furnaces, boilers |
Agriculture | Poultry sheds, dairies and piggeries, greenhouses, crop drying, flame weeding |
In Australia, LPG is stored as a liquid under pressure inside purpose-built cylinders or tanks of varying sizes.
The requirements for safely handling the cylinders containing these Class 2 substances (as classified in the ADG Code) are outlined in AS 4332-2004 The storage and handling of gases in cylinders.
The Standard also outlines the various sizes and capacities of these cylinders and tanks, and the codes used to differentiate them from each other.
LPG cylinder sizes include:
Cylinder type | N 5 kg | P 9 kg | Q/T 18 kg | R | S 45 kg | 90 kg |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Water capacity, L | 11 | 23 | 44 | 65 | 108 | 200 kg |
Height, mm | 400 | 500 | 815 | 840 | 1240 | 1340 |
Diameter, mm | 260 | 310 | 310 | 375 | 375 | 508 |
Empty weight, kg | 6.5 | 9.5 | 20 - 22 | 28 | 38 | 70 |
NOTE: Height includes valve protection ring
Despite the vast range of uses and applications associated with liquified petroleum gas, it is a Class 2.1 Flammable Gas kept liquiified under pressure, so there is an array of risks to be aware of when using, storing and handling LPG cylinders in the workplace or at home.
The major risks of LPG include the following:
LPG doesn’t only present health and physiochemical hazards. The LPG cylinders themselves pose several other hazards that should be recognised and controlled, including the following:
Requirements for minor storage quantities of compressed gas cylinders - as outlined in AS 4332-2004, Section 2 Minor Storage - should be applied to your cylinder stores if you handle or store less than 500 litres of LPG (combined with other Class 2.1 Flammable Gases).
Storing LPG cylinders indoors is not recommended - largely due to the odourless gas’s propensity to accumulate in low-lying areas undetected and rapidly fill an entire room, presenting a high risk of asphyxiation to anyone present, or an explosion caused by an ignition source such as static electricity.
An outdoor location is ideal, preferably inside a sturdy gas bottle cage made from heavy-duty materials with cylinder restraints or safety straps.
Watch the following short video to see an example of an AS 4332-compliant LPG gas bottle storage cage.
The LPG cylinder storage area should not be too close to pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and ideally should be fenced and secured from unauthorised access. If it isn’t practical to position the cylinder store away from the paths of vehicles, bollards or crash barriers must be installed to minimise the risk of damage to the cylinders from vehicles.
When deciding on the location of LPG cylinders:
For the purposes of segregation, the Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG) Code differentiates Class 2: Gases into three (3) separate divisions.
Flammable gases such as LPG must be segregated from oxidising gases (such as oxygen) and toxic gases.
Segregation can be achieved in two ways:
NOTE: Empty LPG cylinders are not actually completely empty and still contain some gas, so they must be stored and handled as carefully as full cylinders. Empty LPG cylinders must be labeled ‘EMPTY’, separated from full cylinders, and segregated according to their hazard classification as flammable gases.
LPG cylinders should be individually restrained in purpose-built racks or cages
Both Standards - AS/NZS 1596:2014 and AS 4332-2004 - outline additional compliance requirements related to the storage and handling of LPG cylinders, including:
Dangerous Goods Class Label |
GHS Pictogram |
Hazard Sign |
If you’re looking for further information about LP gas cylinder storage in the workplace, dangerous goods specialists STOREMASTA have developed a free eBook, Gas Cylinder Storage: Compliance and Safety Requirements, that you can download right now, featuring real world examples of workplace incidents and accidents involving gas cylinders.