Propane Mentorship by Jacob Garnett (Part 1 of 3)

The following is the first installment of three of Jacob Garnett’s essays about his study of propane and his observations and insights gained via field experience in the Terry Garnett’s Propane Mentorship Program.

Terry Garnett’s Propane is a family owned business that has served the Central Texas community for 30 years. Providing propane to help friends and neighbors in their homes and businesses has become a family tradition.

Jacob Garnett is carrying on this tradition.  Jacob attends Wimberley High School and is currently enrolled in the Terry Garnett’s Propane Mentorship Program.

Propane Mentorship
by Jacob Garnett

Part I

Propane is a naturally occurring gas composed of three carbon atoms and eight hydrogen atoms. About 2,000 years ago Arabian scientists learned that petroleum products can be distilled or separated into different parts, based on their boiling points, and that each part has its own distinctive properties. Thus began the human struggle to create, or manufacture, gases which could be used as a source of fuel, light, heat, and anything else imaginable.

By 1910, Propane was recognized as an important component of petroleum when people began to realize that the gasoline fueling their cars was burning at an accelerated rate because it was mixed with other parts of petroleum. These parts were propane, butane, and other hydrocarbons that just so happened to bum at a much higher-octane rate. A scientist by the name of Snelling used coils from an old water heater as a still to separate petroleum products into liquids and gases. Thus propane was born! So, basically, Propane is not really “made”, it is “extracted” from previous petrol product.

The manufacturing process begins when crude oil is pumped out of the ground, then stored in a gas trap. The trap separates everything into crude oil and “wet” gas, which is where our gas, propane, comes from. The “wet” gas is pumped to a gas plant where LPG Gas (liquefied petroleum gas, or propane) and natural gasoline is separated. The layers of gases and liquids are then sent through a series of separating towers. The final product is several different kinds of flammable gas and liquid including gasoline, methane, natural gas, butane, isobutane, and propane. All of the by-products from these processes are then sent back through to begin again and make the most of raw materials.

Propane burns at a very high-octane rate making it a very clean burning fuel. This makes propane ideal for use in homes, cooking, heating, and just about anything which requires a crisp, clean burning fuel. Some vehicles used to and still do run off of LPG Gas. However the temperature of propane before combustion, 50 degrees below zero, makes it very difficult to keep a reliable vehicle engine running.

After the propane is manufactured and tested for quality and purity, it then becomes a business. First, the manufacturer distributes and sells the LPG Gas to the guys down the food chain from them.

Here in Texas, our manufacturer and distributors are located in Corpus Christi; in fact most of the propane and natural gas in Texas comes from our coast, and most of that is coming from Corpus. The distributors then ship their propane in large eighteen-wheeler tankers throughout Texas for varying prices. My company’s supplier is K-Marketing, a large gas shipping company out of Corpus Christi.

The amount of gas ordered depends on the size of the individual company, the size of their clientele, and the season. During the winter months, we probably order about five times as much propane as we do during the summer months.

[ End of Part I - Part II is here ]