Because propane has natural origins, it is not "made" of other raw materials; instead, it is "found" in petroleum chemical mixtures deep within the earth. These petroleum mixtures are literally rock oil, combinations of various hydrocarbon-rich fluids
1. Both processes begin when underground oil fields are tapped by drilling oil wells. The gas/oil hydrocarbon mixture is piped out of the well and into a gas trap, which separates the stream into crude oil and "wet" gas, which contains natural gasoline, liquefied petroleum gases, and natural gas.
2. Crude oil is heavier and sinks to the bottom of the trap; it is then pumped into an oil storage tank for later refinement. (Although propane is most easily isolated from the "wet gas" mixture, it can be produced from crude oil. Crude oil undergoes a variety of complex chemical processes, including catalytic cracking, crude distillation, and others. While the amount of propane produced by refinery processing is small compared to the amount separated from natural gas, it is still important because propane produced in this manner is commonly used as a fuel for refineries or to make LPG or ethylene.)
3. The "wet" gas comes off the top of the trap and is piped to a gasoline absorption plant, where it is cooled and pumped through an absorption oil to remove the natural gasoline and liquefied petroleum gases. The remaining dry gas, about 90% methane, comes off the top of the trap and is piped to towns and cities for distribution by gas utility companies.
4. The absorbing oil, saturated with hydrocarbons, is piped to a still where the hydrocarbons are boiled off. This petroleum mixture is known as "wild gasoline." The clean absorbing oil is then returned to the absorber, where it repeats the process.
5. The "wild gasoline" is pumped to stabilizer towers, where the natural liquid gasoline is removed from the bottom and a mixture of liquefied petroleum gases is drawn off the top.
6. This mixture of LP gases, which is about 10% of total gas mixture, can be used as a mixture or further separated into its three parts—butane, isobutane, and propane (about 5% of the total gas mixture).
Also, it's good to know how to make propane when you aren't near any stores.
Originally posted by tamusan
reply to post by Starchild23
Propane is probably much easier and cheaper to buy, than it is to make for small scale use. If there were no propane available for sale, and I needed some, I guess it would prove useful know how to make it. Then again, I would probably exhaust every other means of heating or cooking first.
I think the proper question you are asking is how to make a propane substitute from household chemicals.
Originally posted by cranspace
reply to post by TomServo
I think the proper question you are asking is how to make a propane substitute from household chemicals.
If you were trying to survive in the sticks instead of trying and failing miserably at making your own propane
Would it not just be easier to make a
Traditional Camp Fire
Cran
My Home-Made Biomass Gasifier
Making your own gasifier is easy I've built a lot of alternative energy projects over the years. See my home-built solar panel and wind turbine pages. I've always wanted to build a wood or biomass gasifier too. Why? Well, the internal combustion engine is really an important part of our society and the basis of a lot of our transportation and portable power technology. It isn't going to be going away any time soon. I've mastered making my own electricity from the sun and wind, but that doesn't help my truck go down the road, power the lawn mower, or run my generator on cloudy, windless days. Those all have internal combustion engines, and they all need fuel to run. I finally decided it was time to master making my own fuel. Why pay the Arabs for it if I can make a working substitute myself?
So what is a biomass gasifier? Basically is a chemical reactor that converts wood, or other biomass substances, into a combustible gas that can be burned for heating, cooking, or for running an internal combustion engine. This is achieved by partially combusting the biomass in the reactor, and using the heat generated to pyrolyse or thermally break down the rest of the material into volatile gasses.
A well built reactor will also convert combustion byproducts like CO2 and water vapor into flammable CO and H2 by passing them over a bed of hot charcoal where they will get reduced. Reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. Reduction of water to hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Thus the gasifier converts most of the mass of the wood (or other biomass feedstock) into flammable gasses with only some ash and unburned charcoal residue. That is the theory anyway.
This is an extreme over-simplification of how the gasifier really works. Wood and other biomass is made of incredibly complex macro-molecules like Cellulose and Lignin that break down into hundreds or thousands of different smaller molecules as the reaction proceeds. There are thousands of different complex chemical reactions going on inside the reactor. The overall result though, if the gasifier is working well, is represented in the simple formulas above.
