Propane: It's All Your GAIN!

You may be thinking: Propane what is that good for?  Well let me tell you it is good for a whole lot more than you think.Propane use is growing rapidly in non-industrialized areas of the world. Propane is replacing wood and other traditional fuel sources in such places, where it is now sometimes called "cooking gas". 

** Notice propane tank beneath the grill


Propane is also being used increasingly for vehicle fuels. In the U.S., 190,000 on-road vehicles use propane, and 450,000 forklifts use it for power.  It is the third most popular vehicle fuel in America, behind gasoline and diesel.  In other parts of the world, propane used in vehicles is known as autogas. About 13 million vehicles worldwide use autogas.

Propane is also used in forms of refrigeration.  

YES PEOPLE!!! It is all true if you buy your propane today at just 2.65 dollars per gallon!!  And with this you can:


1. cook on the grill 
2. drive around in your car
3. put your leftovers in your refrigerator 


All of this is powered by PROPANE!!

Intermolecular Forces

There are three basic intermolecular forces that a molecule can experience.  They are dipole-dipole, london dispersion, and hydrogen bonding. 


Dipole-dipole occurs in all polar molecules.  Caused by the positive dipole of one molecule being attracted to the negative dipole of another. This intermolecular force is stronger than London Dispersion. Hydrogen bonding is a dipole-dipole attraction but is a special kind where the H of one molecule is attracted to the O,F, or N of a near by molecule.  Finally is london dispersion.  This is the only intermolecular force that propane experiences if it were to be bonded with itself.  London Dispersion forces exist between every two non-polar molecules.They are caused by the movement of electrons between the two molecules, as they move rapidly between the two molecules it creates a temporary dipole.  London Dispersion is a very weak attraction. 


London Dispersion is the only force acting upon the Propane when it bonds with itself. 

About Propane

Propane, the most common liquefied petroleum gas (LP-gas), is one of the nation's most versatile sources of energy and supplies about 4 percent of our total energy needs.  Propane is a three carbon-alkane and is normally a gas, but can be compressed to a liquid. 

Propane was discovered to be a component of gasoline by Dr. Walter O. Snelling of the US Bureau of Mines in 1910.  Dr. Snelling partnered with Frank P. Peterson, Chester Kerr and Arthur Kerr.  These men found ways to liquify LP gases during the refining of natural gasoline.  With this they created the American Gas Company, the first marketer of propane. 

This brought propane to the national stage and spurred its use in other areas of everyday life. 

Polarity

Polarity is determined by how the electrons are placed throughout the molecule.  Molecules can be either polar or non-polar.  Non-polar molecules are those which have an equal distribution of charges throughout the molecule making it symmetrical.  While polar molecules on the other hand are the exact opposite and have an unequal distribution of electrons. Propane is a non-polar molecule.  The picture below illustrates that the hydrogens are placed symmetrically around the carbons.

NOTE: Because the electronegativity values in Hydrogen are less than that in Carbon, there should be arrows from the H pointing towards the C.

Molecular Geometry: AX Form

The AX form of Propane is AX3.  This gives if the shape of a Trigonal Planar.  Ideal bond angles of 120 degrees.

The Green atom bonds are the carbons and the gray atoms are the hydrogens. C3H8 .