Commercial Viability Study for LPG as Alternative Mass Transportation Fuel

Lynn C. McLean; Mohamed El-Sayed

doi:10.4271/2015-01-1679

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG, is a byproduct of both natural gas processing and crude oil refining. As a chemical, propane (C3H8) is a nontoxic, colorless, and virtually odorless hydrocarbon. It is economical to store and transport in liquefied form.

Due its availability and adoptability as engine fuel, propane is quickly becoming one of the viable alternatives fueling 17 million vehicles worldwide. So far, there are about 270,000 propane fueled vehicles in the U. S. This number represents about 1.6 percent of the world propane fueled vehicles.

In this paper, a commercial viability a multi-year cost study of captive fleet buses is conducted for LPG as alternative mass transportation fuel in comparison with gasoline and diesel. The study is based on more than four million of recorded mass transportation service miles. To address some of the key issues in LPG utilization as an alternative fuel for mass transportation some of the key issues such as safety, environmental issues, fueling infrastructure, and fleet vehicle contents are discussed.

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Commercial Viability Study for LPG as Alternative Mass Transportation Fuel 2015-01-1679

SAE MOBILUS