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Old 06-10-08, 21:54
Rob Beale Rob Beale is offline
C8AX Ambulance (NZ), UC1*
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Gisborne, New Zealand
Posts: 388
Default Crude oil is a mixture,

When it comes out of the ground ,crude has a range of hydrocarbons from the lightest gas, Methane to the heaviest Bitumens. Refining separates the mix into fractions for users:
Methane is Natural Gas used in domestic homes and as CNG
Ethane gets used to make plastics and stuff
Propane is usually mixed with Butane and sold as LPG
Butane is used on its own in cigarette lighters
after that we get liquids which are usually mixed so:
Pentane thru Octane and beyond become petrol (or gasoline)
then heavier fractions make things like parafin, kerosene, diesel etc
then come the various grades of lubricating oils
The stuff that stays solid is used on the roads as bitumen,
and the gunk left over that is too soft for roading and too thick for fuel is used as bunker oil in ships, where they heat it to make it flow

That's it in a nut shell

If more LPG is used, mainly in the warmer climes, that will take the pressure off world demand for petrol, and help those in the cooler areas.

Rob

ps I used CNG vehicles at work in the 1980's and it was a pain in the butt, low power, low range, no roadside top ups. The taxi and bus industries loved it, but they were able to stay close to the refill station and one driver per vehicle helped too.

Another vehicle in the fleet (a Falcon) had dual fuel LPG / petrol and it had an incredible range, with barely noticeable power drop on LPG.
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