Williamson County will soon acquire 10 additional propane powered trucks as part of a pilot program aimed at promoting domestically produced, environmentally friendly vehicles. Cedar Park City Councilmember and Ferrell Gas regional manager, Tony Dale, recently gave some local officials including me and others a chance to drive one of the first propane-powered Ford F-250 trucks converted by ROUSH Performance. Jack Roush and Roush Racing have claimed championships in the Nextel Cup and other races. The company has propane conversion packages for a variety of vehicles. More info on ROUSH can be found at http://www.roushperformance.com
According to the Ferrell Gas website, http://www.ferrellgas.com, “Today, propane is the number one alternative fuel for the automotive sector, and it powers more than 8 million vehicles in more than 38 countries. The reason is clear. Propane provides fleet managers with a cost-effective, clean, safe, and reliable alternative fuel. Plus, more than 90 percent of all propane used in the United States is produced domestically, reducing our dependence on foreign fuel.” Furthermore,
• “Propane vehicles have the longest driving range of any alternative fuel – more than 250 percent farther than compressed natural gas, about 60 percent farther than methanol, and 25 percent farther than ethanol.
• Those who drive propane-powered vehicles say that there are no significant driving differences between dedicated propane vehicles and gasoline-powered ones.
• Propane vehicle tanks are constructed from carbon steel under code developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and are 20 times more puncture resistant and can withstand far more pressure than a typical gasoline, methanol, or ethanol tank.”
Plus…in a time where our region is facing possibly reaching non-attainment status from the Environmental Protection Agency, propane usage leads to much cleaner air, according to the company’s website:
• “Propane exhaust creates 60 to 70 percent less smog-producing hydrocarbons than gasoline (Southwest Research Institute).
• Compared to gasoline, propane yields 12 percent less carbon dioxide, about 20 percent less nitrous oxide, and as much as 60 percent less carbon monoxide (World Liquid Propane Gas Association, January 2003; California Energy Commission, January 2003).
• Propane cuts emissions of toxins and carcinogens like benzene and toluene by up to 96 percent compared to gasoline (Southwest Research Institute).
• Propane’s octane rating is 104, while premium grade gasoline’s is only 91 to 92, which allows for a higher compression ratio in the engine and greater engine efficiency. This leads to significant reductions in exhaust emissions like carbon monoxide.
• Propane is listed as an approved alternative fuel in the 1990 Clean Air Act and the Energy Policy Act of 1992. “
The expansion of propane vehicles to the county's fleet is part of a larger effort to improve public health by promote clean air. Williamson County is a part of the regional effort called the Clean Air Force. Commissioner Ron Morrison (R-Round Rock) and Commissioner Valerie Covey (R-Georgetown) serve as the county's representative and alternate on this important collaboration of local government, business, community and other interests. For more information, go tohttp://cleanairforce.org.
Comments
The problem I see with propane as alternative fuel is, its derived from petroleum and a lot of that is imported. But as long as propane (or, mixtures of propane and butane, commonly called LP or liquified petroleum gas) is available, it makes sense to use it. So I favor propane conversions for vehicles such as taxicabs, school buses, delivery trucks, et cetera.
Unfortunately propane is not likely to be suitable for piston-powered airplanes. The fuel tank has to be able to take pressure, resulting in significant weight increase, and there would be too much danger of explosion if the airplane crashes. But for ground vehicles powered by spark-ignited engines, there's definitely a lot of Pros to using propane.
Regarding the source of propane more than 50% of the US supply comes from processing natural gas. It is not from petroleum. When you process natural gas or refine oil you can capture propane as a by-product.
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