Question

The major component of LPG is:
(A) Methane
(B) Ethane
(C) Propane
(D) isobutane

Answer 1

Hint: LPG stands for liquefied petroleum gas. It is a highly flammable mixture of low molecular weight hydrocarbons. The mixture contains hydrocarbons which have three or four carbons in its structure.

Complete step by step answer:
- LPG is the acronym of Liquefied petroleum gas or liquid petroleum gas. We are already familiar with it because we use LPG for cooking our food. The red cylinders that come to our home contain LPG. The LPG we use is a mixture of gases like propane, butane and some others which are found in trace quantities. So, we can say that the major constituent in LPG is propane from above options.
- LPG is a flammable mixture which is made up of hydrocarbon gases. LPG is made up of liquid or gas (vapour), which depends upon pressure and LPG gas temperature. The composition of LPG we use at home and the commercial LPG are typically the same propane, butane or a mixture of the two gases.
- LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas – is produced during natural gas processing and petroleum refining. We should know that Liquefied Petroleum Gas – LPG – constituents are primarily propane, butane, isobutane, butylene, propylene and mixtures of these gases.
- LPG is a gas which has no characteristic odour. The distinctive smell in propane that people associate with LPG is actually added to it as a safety measure. We cannot detect the leak of propane gas unless we add a gas which has an odour with it. The smell that we can observe when there is a leak is actually due to an entirely different agent, called Ethyl Mercaptan. It is added to the LPG mixture when it leaves the main storage terminals.
- LPG gas constituents are produced from crude oil refining and natural gas processing. They are liquid when external pressure is applied and gas at room temperature and pressure. We should note that in India we use a mixture of butane and propane.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note: LPG and CNG are different from each other because the main constituent of CNG gas is methane. Do not get confused between butane and isobutene, which are isomers of each other. Their structures are as below.