A Comparative Analysis of Physio-Chemical Properties of Local and Imported LPG On the Ghanaian Market

Abstract

Lignified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is gaining much usage as a fuel globally including Ghana.According to the Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census, LPG as a main source of cooking fuel increased from 18.2% in 2010 to 36.9 % in 2021. LPG in circulation is produced from three main sources. These are from Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) and from Imports (IM). However, there are been some public discourse over the quality and safety of the LPG on the market. This work therefore compared secondary data on the physiochemical properties of a locally produced LPG and imported one for the purposes of quality and safety by comparing with LPG standards from the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA). From the results, it could be concluded that the Local (LO) gas had averagely 47:49% propane to butane ratio while the IM recorded
averagely 1: 99% propane to butane ratio. The higher the butane ratio, the higher the energy content and safer the gas for hot climates. The LO exceeded the GSA threshold value of 2% by 64.5% (3.29 %) for pentane and higher carbon content. This is responsible for higher CO 2 emissions. However, both LO and IM passed the Vapour Pressure (VP) value of 9 Kg/cm 2 but the IM proved to be safer due its lower VP value of 3 Kg/cm 2 as against 8 Kg/cm 2 for LO. It is therefore recommended that the butane content of the LO must be improved upon to reduce the propane to butane ratio to reduce the Vapour Pressure (VP) value. Again, the C 5+ content of the LO must reduce to meet the GSA
threshold value of 2%. Finally, GSA must produce a standard for the LPG compositions to ensure uniformity.