Propane is used by a lot of industries. It's also used for a variety of applications in homes. There are several reasons why this gas is as popular as it is. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey, propane is the primary home heating fuel in 5% of U.S. homes. It's also used for a variety of other purposes. Here are some of the propane uses you probably didn't know about.

Manufacturing

Propane is a reliable energy source used by many manufacturing facilities to power vehicles and generators. It's also used by petrochemical industries to make plastics. Refrigerator manufacturers use gas as a refrigerant. Did you also know that some types of fridges use propane as an energy source? These gas absorption refrigerators are commonly used for camping and can be found in recreational vehicles.

Storage Warehouses

Different warehouses use propane to power equipment like forklifts. Since it's a clean-burning fuel source, it's considered one of the most reliable gases for indoor forklift operations. The gas is also used to power space heaters. According to the National Propane Gas Association, more than 500,000 forklift trucks use propane gas as fuel.

Portable Stoves and Barbecues

Propane gas is perfect for these types of applications. It has a very low boiling point. As such, it tends to vaporize as soon as it's released from pressurized containers. It's also quite easy to transport as a liquid using metal cylinders. Please note that the majority of gas cylinders sold in shops are not entirely propane. Most are mixed with ethane and butane. In warm countries, however, the gases tend to have a large proportion of butane compared to ethane and propane. This is because propane is less volatile, which makes it a lot easier to store.

Printing Press Applications

In large-scale printing applications, the ink needs to dry as quickly as possible once it has been jetted on paper. To expedite the drying process, printers use hot propane gas. The same process is also applied to cellophane and aluminum foil. Apart from that, printers also use propane to burn printing rolls.

These were just a few of the many purposes of propane. Other propane applications include car thawing, air heating, and galvanizing. If you're looking for propane tanks you can count on, contact Gray's Gas, Inc today.