What Does LPG Stand For? – LPG Meaning
LPG (or LP Gas) stands for the acronym for Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Liquid Petroleum Gas, which is made up of the hydrocarbons propane, butane and isobutane. Liquefied Petroleum Gas is a low carbon fuel used for heating, cooking, various industrial and agricultural applications and as vehicle fuel.
LPG is produced during natural gas processing and petroleum refining.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas is the preferred term within the industry, as it signifies the need to take action for the gas to become a liquid.
But there are also many other terms…
What Does LPG Stand For: Other Terms for LPG
LPG goes by a number of names including Natural Gas Liquids – NGLs, condensate and the actual names of the individual gases that fall under the category of LPG – propane, butane and isobutane.
People also use more colloquial terms to describe LPG.
Some of the more common terms include LPG gas, bottled gas, BBQ gas and camping gas, so it can be quite confusing.
Which Gases are Present in LPG?
LPG is not just a single gas. There are a number of gases that fall under the LPG category.
The most common of these include propane, butane (n-butane) and isobutane (i-butane), as well as mixtures of these gases.
Other gases that also fall under the “LPG” label, including ethane, ethylene, propylene, butylene and isobutylene, as well as mixtures of these gases.
LPG Terminology Can Depend on the Country
LPG is probably the most common term used worldwide.
In Australia, it is frequently called “LPG gas”.
In the USA it is just called Propane.
Propane is LPG but not all LPG is propane.
In the UK, it is referred to as either propane, butane or LPG, depending on what you choose.
In other countries, they call it “GPL” or “GLP” instead of “LPG”, as the acronyms are based on different languages and different language syntax.
For example, in French it is “gaz de pétrole liquéfié” or in Spanish it is “gas licuado de petróleo”.
What is LPG? Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas – describes flammable hydrocarbon gases including propane, butane and mixtures of these gases.
LPG, liquefied through pressurisation, comes from natural gas processing and oil refining.
LPG is used as heating, cooking and auto fuel.
In different countries, what is supplied can be propane, butane or propane-butane blends.
In Australia, LPG is just propane.
Is LPG Liquid or Gas?
LPG exists in two different forms, liquid and gas (vapour).
The pressure and temperature at which it is stored determines which kind you have.
As a liquid, it is stored in a pressurised vessel.
It is typically used as a gas (vapour) but there are liquid applications, as well.
The two terms, vapour and gas, are used interchangeably by most people in reference to LPG.
Is LPG a Natural Gas Liquid – NGL?
The typical LPG gases – propane and butane – are regarded as Natural Gas Liquids – NGL.
However, not all NGLs are LPG.
Natural gas liquids, also called Condensate, include other hydrocarbons, too.
NGLs include isobutane, ethane, ethene, propene, isobutene, butadiene, pentane, pentene and pentanes plus, as well as propane and butane.
Amazingly, LNG – liquefied natural gas – is NOT a natural gas liquid.
LPG Gas
LPG gas is probably the most common term used in Australia, even if it is bad grammar.
It’s like saying “ATM Machine”.
If you expand the acronyms, you are literally saying “liquefied petroleum gas gas”, just like ATM is “automatic teller machine machine”.
It turns out there is actually a name for this.
It’s called RAS syndrome, which is short for “redundant acronym syndrome syndrome”, which is also a great example of itself.
LP Gas
LP Gas is for people who can’t decide between acronyms and words.
While technically correct, it just isn’t as popular as “LPG” or the erroneous “LPG Gas”.
BBQ Gas
BBQ Gas is a very descriptive favourite in Australia based on the end use.
It is used to describe the gas supplied in 9kg and 4kg gas bottles that are used on BBQs.
Autogas
Autogas is another end use based synonym.
“Auto” combined with “gas” as one word gives you Autogas, which unsurprisingly refers to LPG that is used in LPG powered autos.
It is commonly a blend of propane and butane but can be just propane.
Camping Gas
Camping Gas is, once again, a colloquial term based on the application.
Bottled Gas
In this case, the name is descriptive in reference to the container instead of the use, so we call it Bottled Gas.
There are some variations of this where “bottle gas” and “bottles gas” are used, but they are much less common.
Propane
Many refer specifically to one of the constituent gases, such as propane.
In the USA, they commonly use “propane” and seldom use “LPG”.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Liquefied Petroleum Gas is the full and precise term for the product.
As previously mentioned, a slight variation on this is “Liquid Petroleum Gas”.
Being long and cumbersome, most people choose to use the acronym – LPG.