LPG Sampling

Natural Gas Engineering - Practical

A Presentation by Asim Memon -16PG23

What is LPG?

• Liquefied Petroleum Gas – flammable hydrocarbon

gases including propane, butane and mixtures of these
gases.
• Used as heating, cooking and auto fuel.
• In different countries, what is supplied can be
propane, butane or propane-butane blends.
• In Australia, LPG is just propane. Propane is LPG but
not all LPG is propane.
• 1 unit volume LPG (liquid) forms 250 unit volumes of
gas.
Safety First!
• LPG liquid forms cold burns when contacted with skin
or eye.
• Inhaling LPG vapor at high concentration even for a
short time can cause fainting.
• Inhaling of LPG vapor can cause irritation in nose and
throat, headache and nausea, vomiting, dizziness and
loss of consciousness.
• Always wear face mask when performing LPG
related practical!
 Introduction to Sampling
Accurate samples and proper sampling techniques are of
utmost importance in determining,

• Gas composition
• Physical characteristics
• Chemical characteristics
Sample Cylinder
The sample cylinder assembly provides for a safe method
of collection and transport as long as the maximum fill
density meets regulatory requirements.

Sample cylinder is an assembly that includes:

Pressure rated cylinder
Inlet and Outlet valves as a minimum.
Additional options include
Rupture discs, outage tube,
handles, identification rings, pressure gauge etc.
Maximum fill density
• The volume of a sample cylinder occupied by the
sample.
• Expressed as a percent of total capacity.
• Regulated by various governmental authorities for
safe transport of the cylinder.
• Most regulations limit the maximum fill density of
containers or cylinders for safety to 80% of liquid fill.

Regulating authorities:
Canadian Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations
Gas Processors Association (GPA)
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
U.S Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Outage tube
• A “cut to length” tube placed inside of the sample
cylinder.
• Used as a way to remove excess sample from the
cylinder.
• Creates 20-25% vapor space in cylinder.
Outage Tube
• This vapor space is
essential when
transporting liquefied
gases from one
location to another.

• Small rises in
temperature can
dramatically increase
the pressure in a
cylinder if a vapor
space is not created.
i.e 1°C increase, builds
up 200Psi of pressure.
Rupture Disc
• A rupture disc, also known as a pressure safety disc.
• It is typically made of metal disc that is designed to
burst at a predetermined pressure to permit the
release of gas.
• The pressure rating of the disk is typically stamped
onto the face of the device.
Purging the cylinder
A cleaning technique carried out if,
• The history of the sample container contents is not
known.
• The traces of the previous product could affect the
analysis to be carried out.
• We use the purging technique to flush out the
previous traces from the cylinder.
 Transfer of Sample
• Place the cylinder with outage tube
on top.
• Open Sampling valve and inlet
valve.
• Fill the cylinder.
• Close Sampling valve and inlet
valve.
• Open Vent valve to vent out liquid
from Transfer Line.
• Disconnect the cylinder from
Transfer Line
• Proceed to Outage Operation.
 Outage Operation
• Place the cylinder with outage tube
on top.
• Open Outlet valve.
• Allow excess liquid to escape.
• Close the valve at the first sign of
vapor.
As indicated by the first “sputtering”
and change in flow behavior of the
vented liquid.
• 20% Vapor space would be created.
NOTE: If no liquid escapes, discard the
sample and refill the container.
 Outage Operation
• If the cylinder is not equipped with an outage tube, we can create
the vapor space manually by weighing method.

1. Weigh the empty cylinder. i.e 5kg

2. Completely fill the Sample cylinder.
3. Weigh the Sample cylinder on a balance. i.e 6kg
4. Vent off some liquid from the bottom of the vertically oriented
container.
5. Then weigh the vented cylinder. i.e 5.8kg
6. Estimate the vapor space in the cylinder.
7. Repeat the venting and weighing procedures to obtain 20-22%
vapor space.
 Transportation and Analysis

After the sample has been obtained it will be transported

to a laboratory for analysis.

Before transporting sample cylinder following considerations should be

undertaken
1. Proper tagging of cylinder for time, date, and
location
2. Pressure and temperature of source gas
3. Technician that obtained sample
4. Method used for obtaining sample
5. Leak checks
6. Proper protection of cylinder for transport
A Presentation by

Asim Memon 16PG23

Thank you. ^_^