Editing Propane (section)

== History ==
Propane was first synthesized by the French chemist [[Marcellin Berthelot]] in 1857 during his researches on [[hydrogenation]].  Berthelot made propane by heating [[propylene dibromide]] (C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>6</sub>Br<sub>2</sub>) with [[potassium iodide]] and water.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dzlCAQAAMAAJ&q=Berthelot+Propane+1857|language=fr|title=Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences|year=1905|volume=140|publisher=Académie des Sciences}}</ref><ref>''Acetylene and Its Polymers : 150+ Years of History'', Seth C. Rasmussen, Springer, 2018, ISBN 978-3-319-95489-9, {{doi|10.1007/978-3-319-95489-9}}.</ref>{{rp|at=p. 9, §1.1}}<ref>"Substitutions inverses", Marcellin Berthelot, pp. 48-58 in  ''[[Annales de chimie et de physique]]'', [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65708374 3rd ser., '''51''', Paris : Victor Masson, 1857.]</ref>  Propane was found dissolved in [[Pennsylvania]]n light [[crude oil]] by [[Edmund Ronalds]] in 1864.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Treatise on Chemistry|last1=Roscoe|first1=H.E.|last2=Schorlemmer|first2=C.|publisher=Macmillan|year=1881|volume=3|pages=144–145}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Chemistry|last=Watts|first=H.|year=1868|volume=4|pages=385}}</ref> [[Walter O. Snelling]] of the [[United States Bureau of Mines|U.S. Bureau of Mines]] highlighted it as a volatile component in [[gasoline]] in 1910, which marked the "birth of the propane industry" in the United States.<ref name="history" /> The volatility of these lighter [[hydrocarbons]] caused them to be known as "wild" because of the high vapor pressures of unrefined gasoline. On March 31, 1912, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on Snelling's work with liquefied gas, saying "a [[gas cylinder|steel bottle]] will carry enough [[gas]] to light an ordinary home for three weeks".<ref>{{cite news |title=GAS PLANT IN STEEL BOTTLE.; Dr. Snelling's Process Gives Month's Supply in Liquid Form. |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C04E3DB1F31E233A25752C0A9629C946396D6CF |work=The New York Times |date=April 1, 1912 |page=9 |access-date=2007-12-22}}</ref>

It was during this time that Snelling''—''in cooperation with Frank P. Peterson, Chester Kerr, and Arthur Kerr''—''developed ways to liquefy the LP gases during the refining of gasoline.<ref name="history" /> Together, they established American Gasol Co., the first commercial marketer of propane. Snelling had produced relatively pure propane by 1911, and on March 25, 1913, his method of processing and producing LP gases was issued patent #1,056,845.<ref name=history>{{cite web|title=The History of Propane |url=http://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=634 |author=National Propane Gas Association |access-date=2007-12-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111065134/http://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=634 |archive-date=January 11, 2011 }}</ref> A separate method of producing LP gas through compression was developed by Frank Peterson and its patent was granted on July 2, 1912.<ref name="lpga">{{Cite journal | title=The First Fifty Years of LP-Gas: An Industry Chronology | journal=LPGA Times | date=January 1962 | url=http://www.npga.org/files/public/LPGA_Times_1962_History.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007140419/http://www.npga.org/files/public/LPGA_Times_1962_History.pdf | archive-date=2006-10-07 }}, Page 17.</ref>

The 1920s saw increased production of LP gases, with the first year of recorded production totaling {{convert|223,000|USgal|m3}} in 1922. In 1927, annual marketed LP gas production reached {{convert|1|e6USgal|m3}}, and by 1935, the annual sales of LP gas had reached {{convert|56|e6USgal|m3}}. Major industry developments in the 1930s included the introduction of railroad tank car transport, gas odorization, and the construction of local bottle-filling plants. The year 1945 marked the first year that annual LP gas sales reached a billion gallons. By 1947, 62% of all U.S. homes had been equipped with either natural gas or propane for cooking.<ref name=history />

In 1950, 1,000 propane-fueled buses were ordered by the [[Chicago Transit Authority]], and by 1958, sales in the U.S. had reached {{convert|7|e9USgal|m3}} annually. In 2004, it was reported to be a growing $8-billion to $10-billion industry with over {{convert|15|e9USgal|m3}} of propane being used annually in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fact Sheet – The History of Propane |url=http://www.propanecouncil.org/newsroom/fact_sheetsDetail.cfv?id=5 |author1=Propane Education |author2=Research Council |name-list-style=amp |access-date=2007-12-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040216021025/http://www.propanecouncil.org/newsroom/fact_sheetsDetail.cfv?id=5 |archive-date=February 16, 2004 }}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], propane [[Shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic|shortages]] were reported in the United States due to increased demand.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Puente|first=Victor|date=7 December 2020|title=Propane shortage: An unexpected side effect of the pandemic and restaurant mandates|url=https://www.wkyt.com/2020/12/07/propane-shortage-an-unexpected-side-effect-of-the-pandemic-and-restaurant-mandates/|access-date=2021-01-30|website=WKYT|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lott|first=Jennifer|date=14 January 2021|title=Southwest Louisiana is experiencing a propane supply shortage|url=https://www.kplctv.com/2021/01/14/southwest-louisiana-is-experiencing-propane-supply-shortage/|access-date=2021-01-30|website=KPLC|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Peguero|first=Joshua|date=6 December 2020|title=Pandemic is creating an increase in demand for propane, as some homeowners struggle to get some|url=https://www.wbay.com/2020/12/06/pandemic-is-creating-an-increase-in-demand-for-propane-as-some-homeowners-struggle-to-get-some/|access-date=2021-01-30|website=WBAY|language=en}}</ref>