BTLM 4313/ hazardous materials transportation

Assignment 1: liquefied petroleum gas

Course instructor Dr, Saurav. Negi

done by:

Liyan Saqar Sultan AL-Yahmadi

ID: 20199911

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Table of content:

 Introduction……...

 Transportation process
 Storing
 Pipeline transportation
 Sea transportation
 Road transportation
 Unloading and recovery process of LPG.

 Diagram

 Conclusion…….

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Introduction:

Hazardous material or hazmat is any type of materials or substance that is able to cause risks or
poisoning to health, safer or property. When transported these materials may cause serious
damage, identifying these hazardous materials can reduce the risk that they pose. The
Department of Transportation was able to categorize these hazardous materials into 9 different
classes, each class has its own diamond symbol, that can be identified with. These nine classes of
hazardous materials contain, Class 1 explosives, Class 2 gases, class 3 flammable liquids, class 4
flammable solids, class 5 oxidizing substance and organic peroxides, class 6 toxic and infectious
substance, class 7 radioactive materials, class 8 corrosive, and lastly class 9 miscellaneous. When
transported these materials may pose a serious threat if not handled properly, whether it's the
temperature or the high and low pressure these materials can sometimes leak, generate toxic
waste, to further start a fire, or even explode. “LGP” is an acronym for liquefied petroleum gas
and is generally extracted from oil and gas wells. “LPG - short for Liquified Petroleum Gas or
Liquid Petroleum Gas - and also called LP Gas - is actually a term used to describe two
flammable hydrocarbon Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs): propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), or
even a mixture of the two” (Ingles, 2022). LPG falls into class 2 of hazardous materials since it is
flammable, it consists of hydrocarbons that are known as propane and butane. LPG is highly
consumed in powering commercial business, transporting, farming industry, power generator and
home appliance such as in cooking and heating.

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Transportation process of LPG:

There are various modes of transporting liquified petroleum gas “LPG” while following the rules
and guidelines provided by the UN with the correct label. As stated previously LPG contains of
propane and butane, propane flame temperature is set at 1967°C (3573ºF), propane detonation
temperature (ignition temperature of propane gas) is set at approximately 470°C – 550°C (878°F
– 1020°F). When the temperature reaches at 470°C – 550°C, the propane will then explode
without the need of flames or fire, it can trigger and cause massive risks.

Storing LPG can be done in various ways, LPG is compressed into a liquid form and contained
in a special constructed cylinder, gas bottles, or even tanks. LPG is usually kept into a steel or
composite container in liquid form. “Since gaseous LPG has a volume 270 times that of liquid
LPG, it is nearly always shipped in its liquid form. Cars, rail, tanker trucks, intermodal
containers, cylinder trucks, pipelines, and municipal gas reticulation facilities are all options for
transporting LPG propane” (Esenssys, 2021).

The transportation process of LPG gas start with the separation of the liquefied petroleum gas
from the natural gas or crude oil, then the LPG is further isolated and then marked as either

propane, butane or LPG gas mixture of both components.

Pipeline transportation:

LPG pipeline (liquefied petroleum gas pipeline) is mode of transporting LPG through a pipeline
LPG must take serious measures to prevent vaporization during pipeline transportation. When
transporting LPG through pipeline the pressure at each point along the pipeline must be greater
than the capacity pressure of LPG. Having an insulator in the pipeline is a necessity, the liquefied
gas pipeline should have a good heat-proofing layer to prevent the surrounding medium from
transferring the heat into LPG in the pipeline. When the pressure stats dropping and the
temperature stats rising, this may cause LPG to. Taking the correct measures will prevent any
leakage or vaporization of liquefied petroleum gas. Liquified Petroleum Gas pipelines are

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typically utilized between the gas fields and storage terminals, LPG then moves through the
pipeline until its final destination.

Maritime transportation:

Sea transportation or also known as maritime transportation is another mode to transport

liquefied petroleum gas, a special build tanker is made to transport LPG. These special gas
carrier ships are specifically constructed for maritime ship vessels that are devoted to transport
all types of liquefied natural gases (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)to their final
destination safely. These special carries are built with a tanker of plain surface, spherical or
cylindrical shape, in them LPG is kept while being transported. Fully refrigerated ships are
example of an LPG carrier as it is very large and has a capacity of 15,000 – 85,000 m3 gas and is
the best option to use for long destination. It has a pressure of approximately 0.28 kg/cm2 and a
temperature of about – 50°C. Because of its prism like shape, it makes it suitable to transport
LPG in bulk.

Road transportation:

LPG road transportation is done by a large tanker truck referred to as a bobtail truck. These
bobtail trucks are single confined pressure vessels. LPG is transferred into the vessel of the truck
where then the transportation process can start. LPG can be distributed effectively anywhere,
using a truck.

LPG Unloading and Recovery Process:

Before the unloading process begins, the pressure is equalized between both the transporter and
the storage tank. when the compressor is started it draws vapor from the top of the storage tank
through the transfer pipe. The pickup pressure compresses the diaper and increases the vapor
pressure as it is pushed into the bottom of the storage tank, as the differential pressure between
the two tanks increases, the liquefied petroleum gas begins to flow from the transport to the

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storage tanks the liquid transfer process is now complete. The compressor is turned off to begin
the vapor recovery process, the four-way valve is reversed, and other valves are opened or closed
to facilitate the vapor recovery. Then the compressor is started and begins to draw the vapor
from the transport tank. The liquid then yields the remaining liquid in the transport tank boils off
during the recovery process. The compressor compresses the vapor and increases the vapor
pressure as it is pushed into the bottom of the storage tank. Vapor recovery process is complete
when the desired evacuation pressure is reached.

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Conclusion:

In summary, LPG (Liquified petroleum gas) is considered as a hazardous material by th UN, for
contains substance as propane and butane. LPG is transported in a special build tanker to keep it
safe most known as bobtail trucks. LPG maritime transportation is also transported by special
carries, to avoid any leakage or vaporize we use a pipeline to transport LNG to its destination.
Later on, it could be used for consumption either for home appliance or other uses. Liquified
petroleum gas should be delivered safely with safe or special type of modes to avoid any
combustion that could be harmful to the environment, human or property.

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Reference:

Ingles, W., 2022. How to Store and Handle Liquified Petroleum Gas (LP Gas): A Complete
Guide. [online] Blog.storemasta.com.au. Available at: https://blog.storemasta.com.au/how-to-
store-and-handle-liquified-petroleum-gas-lp-gas-a-complete-guide [Accessed 19 March 2022].

Esenssys, E. (2021, April 22). What is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and how does it work?
ES Systems. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://esenssys.com/liquefied-petroleum-
gas-guide

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/how-comply-federal-hazardous-
materials-regulations

https://www.steeljrv.com/what-is-lpg-pipeline.html

https://www.marineinsight.com/types-of-ships/what-are-gas-carrier-ships/#:~:text=Gas
%20carrier%20ships%20are%20especially,shape%20to%20carry%20the%20gas.

https://punegas.com/pune-gas-knowledge-center/lpg-vapourizer/#:~:text=A%20vaporizer%20is
%20an%20apparatus,the%20gas%20to%20operate%20itself.