Hello R,
I missed your reply back in February and got sidetracked due to medical issues.
The difference is that gasoline will burn cooler and eventually carbon foul the sparkplug. Propane on the other hand burns too hot during combustion and will create piston damage. Propane can still foul the spark plug, but it takes much longer.
Propane is a dry fuel while gas is considered a wet fuel.
Nope. Backwards.
Propane 1 gallon=91,452 Btu
Motor gasoline 1 gallon=120,214 Btu
Stoichiometry Mass. . . . Vol. . . % by mass
| Propane (LP) | 15.5 : 1 | 23.9 : 1 | 6.45% |
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . 14.7 : 1 — . . . . . . . . 6.8%
Per unit time both are ideally in the vapor state and the percentage fuel required is quite similar. The energy released per unit time from gasoline is higher by about 25%. Gasoline burns hotter than propane. In open air, a gasoline flame reaches peak temperatures of about 1,800°C to 2,000°C (3,300°F to 3,630°F), while a propane flame burns at approximately 1,960°C (3,560°F). Under pure oxygen, gasoline can reach over 3,000°C compared to propane's 2,820°C.
Gasoline FAQ - Part 1 of 4Section - 1. Introduction, Intent, Acknowledgements, and Abbreviations
www.faqs.org
As for "dry" and "wet"....this is where that terminology comes from....When a formation holds mostly methane, it is referred to as a dry gas field. But most formations have a mixture of various hydrocarbons that all come to the surface as the well is produced. Wells that produce a lot of the other light hydrocarbons are called wet gas wells. These other light hydrocarbons include ethane, butane, natural gasoline and propane.
In natural gas processing plants, propane enters the plant as a component of the wet natural gas stream from natural gas and crude oil wells. When the raw, wet natural gas is cooled and pressurized in the plant, the heavier hydrocarbons (including ethane, propane, normal butane, isobutane, and natural gasoline) turn into liquids and separate from the natural gas stream. The mixed liquids, also referred to as Y-grade, are then refined and separated in a fractionator into purity products (products that are at least 90% of one type of hydrocarbon gas liquid [HGL]).
Oil refineries can produce propane in two stages of the crude oil refining process. The first refining process that yields propane is the atmospheric distillation column, where crude oil undergoes initial distillation. In modern, complex refineries, propane (and propylene) is also produced in fluid catalytic crackers (FCC). During this process, long-chain hydrocarbon molecules are cracked under high temperatures and pressures to break these molecules into lighter hydrocarbons that are more suitable for motor gasoline production. In addition to those gasoline blending products, the refinery crackers produce lighter molecules including propane, normal butane, isobutane, and their olefins.
