Laserfiche WebLink
ME1-10 TO: Mayor and City Council <br />FROM: Clerk-AdminisLralor <br />DATE: February 8, 1982 <br />SUBJECT: LIQUID PROPANE GAS (LPG) AS AN ALTERNAVVE FUEL <br />SOURCE FOR MUNICIPAL VL•'IIICI,IiS <br />After the 1981 League of Minnesota Cities Conference, Mayor McCarty <br />requested that staff investigate the feasibility of Liquid Propane <br />Gas (LPG) as a supplementary or alternative fuel source for the <br />City's vehicles. The following is a sunm:ary of the informnrinn <br />glcar, d 4'1:01i1 do investigation of the subject and staff's recommenda- <br />tions for the conversion of the City's fleet to LPG. <br />LPG is a derivative of the refining of natural gas and crude oil <br />which exists as a gas in its natural state. For ease of transporta- <br />tion, handling, and distribution the gas .is liquified under pressure. <br />The liquid form vaporizes when it is released from its container and <br />is used by the consumer in its gaseous state. <br />Until recently the more common uses for. LPG or propane, as it is <br />commonly known, have been for heating, gas appliances, grain drying, <br />and agricultural or industrial equipment. With rising costs for <br />fuel and maintenance.of gasoline powered vehicles propane has also <br />become a popular fuel source for fleet vehicles in both the private <br />and public sectors. <br />There are two types of propane systems which can be used in <br />vehicles. The first is a "straight propane" system which burns <br />propane only. The second system is known as a "dual" system. In <br />a dual system the vehicle has both propane and gasoline tanks and <br />can burn either propane or gasoline depending upon the desires of <br />the operator. The advantages and disadvantages of each system will <br />be discussed in a later section of this report. <br />Some of the advantages and disadvantages of propane as an alterna- <br />tive source are: <br />A. Advantages <br />1. Low cost. Because propane is a by-product of crude oil and <br />natura gas processing resulting in a large supply of the <br />product and the demand for propane is low, propane presently <br />sells for about 506 to 6" less per gallon than gasoline. <br />2. H h Octane Rating. Propane has an octane rating exceeding <br />110, as compare to about 93 for premium gasoline, which <br />Provides for smoother vehicle performance. <br />- ` 3. Longer Spark Plug He. Because propane clogs not require <br />the additives normally contained in gasoline, their useful <br />life can be doubled. <br />