The Future of Liquefied Petroleum Gas - Dissertation Example

?Running Head: Research Proposal Research Proposal [Institute’s TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 Research Statement 3 LITERATURE REVIEW 3 METHODOLOGY 8 CONCLUSION 9 RESEARCH PLAN 10 REFERENCES 11 INTRODUCTION It has not always been easy for people to see how their actions affect the world and its inhabitants, both humans and other species. Despite this, they continue to use up the world’s resources for their own good. In the recent decade, however, quite a few countries have shown concern about the earth’s scarce resources, and about conservation of energy, which would otherwise affect the future adversely. Experts suggest that the energy industry takes a step towards this, because if they concentrate on making sustainable energy resources, they could play a crucial role in conserving energy (Williams, pp. 23-25, 2002). Thus, this has become a priority amongst car builders, manufacturers, and other people responsible. They are now concentrating on creating automobiles that will be most helpful in sustaining energies. Thus, the proposed research would be one small but significant step towards these efforts. Research Statement In this regard, the researcher will endeavor on the below-mentioned research statement to fulfill the aims and objectives of the research: “To identify and analyze the future of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in the energy market globally” LITERATURE REVIEW A study conducted by Qi, Bian, Ma, Zhang & Liu (2006) found out that Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a viable option and solution to the increasing pollution in China. Widespread use of LPG would mean that the country would emit lesser pollutants and dangerous gases due to the consumption of diesel and petrol based fuels. However, the study also recommended that for ensuring LPG has a bright future, experts will have to work to reduce the effects of one major disadvantage caused by LPG, and that be of the high auto-ignition temperature. The study experiments with the effects of replacing a diesel based automobiles with LPG-Diesel blended fuels at various blended rates that are 0 percent, 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent and 40 percent. The effects that were under examination were related to the engine performance and exhaust emissions that revealed that the effects on engine performance did not witness any significant impact; however, with increased LPG volume, the emission of sulfur and carbon oxides did decrease dramatically. Important here to note is that these findings are not in line with the findings of various other studies which have believed that LPG use as a car fuel increases hydrocarbon emissions (Gilbert & Perl, pp. 74-78, 2008; Song, Hsu, & Mochida, pp. 52-58, 2000). The Indian scientists, Ahuja, Dash & Shrivastava (2011) under the umbrella of “Department of Burns, Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Microvascular Surgery” in a recent research have revealed that LPG cylinders used for cooking are much safer in Indian households as compared to other means used for cooking. Furthermore, most of the LPG related incidents, which were reported in Indian households over the past 17 months, were in majority a result of negligence and inability to take care of the instruments. The study took into account various factors such as “age, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, literacy level, type of family unit, marital status, type of dwelling unit, mode of injury and its exact mechanism, place of incident, level of cooking stove, extent of burns” (Ahuja, Dash, & Shrivastava, 2011). In addition, some of the other factors were “presence of features of inhalation injury, number of patients affected in a single mishap, size of Liquified Petroleum Gas cylinder used, length of hospital stay and mortality” (Ahuja, Dash, & Shrivastava, 2011). Towards, the end it concluded that it is much safer for the lower and middle class Indian households, which are using kerosene related instruments for cooking. Therefore, the provincial governments should giver subsidy on the Liquified Petroleum Gas cylinders for sustainable, efficient, and safe cooking that would not only decrease pollution but would also result in lesser burns and injuries (Kohl & Nielsen, pp. 97-98, 1997l; Parkash, pp. 33-34, 2009). Autogas and auto propane are the names for LPG, when it is used for ignite and provide power to the internal combustion engines of the automobiles. Its use as a source of fuel for car has been prominent in various countries of the world since the late 1930s. Recent studies concerning the use of LPG mixed with other fuels have found out that with increasing LPG volumes the fuel consumption and some emissions do witnesses a decrease. However, there is a significant increase in the emissions of hydrocarbons such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide (National Fire Protection Association & American National Standards Institute, pp. 88-89, 2007; Onursal & Gautam, pp. 41-48, 1997). LPG is one of the fuel sources, which does not cause any rusting or corrosion to the engines and does not contain any toxic materials, which could harm the engine or other parts of the automobile. There are studies, which have shown the other side of the picture regarding LPG use as well. For example, this is a well known that LPG has a lower energy density, which means, comparatively, the fuel consumption is much higher which results in higher costs from the side of drivers and consumers. However, this research has avoided the fact that on a worldwide scale, many countries try to impose lesser taxes on LPG than as compared to other forms of fuel, which could offset the higher consumption levels of this form of fuel. Then again, in many European countries, a high annual road tax on the vehicles makes the economic picture regarding the economic future of LPG use, unfavorable (International Maritime Organization, pp. 254-255, 2007; Hoffmann, pp. 54-58, 2002). A crucial study regarding the future of Liquified Petroleum Gas in the West African markets by the World Bank and World LP Gas Association found out there is great potential in the world market for LPG production and consumption as an alternative, sustainable, and environmentally friendly fuel, especially in the West African markets. The study predicts that if the domestic production of LPG increases, and more investment is done in order to improve the infrastructure, distribution and marketing of the fuel in major West African countries, then its consumption would witness drastic long-term increases. The supply of LPG in the region is increasing sharply. It was at 0.42 million tones in the year 1995 and within five years, it increased to reach the level of 2.3 million tones. Furthermore, this trend continued and in the year 2005, the LPG production reached the peak of 5.3 million tones (Song, Hsu, & Mochida, pp. 52-58, 2000). This increase in the local supplies due to exploration and new discoveries would allow the West African countries to shift their focus from costly imported supplies to cheap local supplies. Furthermore, the cost savings gained from the local supply chain could be passed on to the local customers who would further stimulate the demand. Currently, many West African countries are also giving subsidies on LPG consumption, which is an acceptable short-term solution. Research has also indicated that more that 65 percent to 95 percent of LPG consumption has its roots in the urban areas of West African countries that indicate the fact that there is great market potential. However, one problem is the huge disparities in pricing due to the different government polices in the region. One country may sell the same one-ton LPG for 336 US dollars and the price in the other country may peak at 652 US dollars. In short, the study concludes that the West African governments have a great opportunity at their disposal that they should seize to reap many benefits (Weissenbacher, pp. 252-256, 2009; Elvers, pp. 324-325, 2008). A research conducted in Hong Kong regarding the use of LPG took a slightly different stance than other researches and come forward with their view that LPG should not be promoted based on safety because there is no evidence that it is safer than ay other form of fuel. The human element, care, and alertness play the most important in this regard. This study which was conducted towards the end of 20th century predicted that over the coming few decades, more and more governments would encourage the use of alternative fuels such as LPG and create favorable environments for the entire supply and demand chain players (Raja & Srivastava, pp. 330-332, 2007). The study, like many other studies also went on to conclude that LPG results in lower emissions of various pollutants. However, it concluded that the use of LPG results in decreased emissions of all harmful gases, which is contrary to the other studies, which have suggested that LPG does release lesser pollutants but in case of hydrocarbons, there is an increase. One reason for this disparity in the findings may be rooted in the fact that the use of vehicles to perform these experiments. For example, for this current study, the vehicles used were the “Japanese models of Opel Vectra 2.0 16V, BMW 318I, Toyota Carina E 1.6 Xli, Renault Laguna 2.0 and Honda Accord 2.0 iS” (Jahn, Cook & Graham, pp. 25-28, 2008). The models and engines used for other experiments were significantly different and they may have resulted in different findings of pollutant emissions (Jahn, Cook & Graham, pp. 25-28, 2008). Another study concerning the automobiles on LPG, diesel and petrol found out that LPG based vehicles have a higher tendency to cause accidents. This was concluded because LPG related cylinders have a higher tendency of flammability (National Fire Protection Association & American National Standards Institute, pp. 88-89, 2007). A study conducted to explore the opinions of LPG related industries, regulatory industries, political authorities and other concerned heads of intuitions in various countries of Europe and United States found out that the institutions are determined to make a positive impact towards the development and promotion of LPG as an alternative fuel. The government is less likely to give direct subsidies but it would associate various tax breaks and other benefits in the future with LPG consumption (International Maritime Organization, pp. 254-255, 2007). The flip side of the previous study was conducted in Norway, Belgium, France and Sweden, Denmark and United Kingdom with more than 15000 participants based on their age, gender, automobile ownership, driving experience, fuel consumption, income levels, family size, and martial status. The study wanted to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the public regarding the consumption of LPG. The research ended up concluding that more than 85 percent of the people believed that LPG is more sustainable and environmentally friendly. However, only 69 percent indicated that they would actually prefer LPG as the fuel for their automobile for their next purchase. The major reason behind the lower percentage of people showing their determination for actual usage was based in the fact that it gives lower mileage and in various countries of Europe, including the ones where the research took place, there is a higher annual tax on the LPG vehicles, which offsets any benefits, and any tax breaks. Furthermore, there was a consensus amongst the consumers that for a better and healthier world, they would have to take steps to move towards alternative energy sources such as LPG and others (Jahn, Cook & Graham, pp. 25-28, 2008; Ball & Wietschel, pp. 66-68, 2009). METHODOLOGY Apart from establishing a research statement and objectives, methodology is also a very important step of planning research. It shows how the researcher plans to access and locate the relevant data. Improper or poorly thought out methods can often lead to a waste of resources. Thus, this research proposal presents a full description of the planned methodology, which will include mostly secondary research to find the data needed. For this, the researcher plans to review the books and journal articles, which pertain to LPG’s future. This is especially relevant to the future of liquefied petroleum gas in energy sector, where future of LPG would provide a major stepping-stone for the development of this research. Research indicates that the matter of LPG has been the subject of research and study amongst several experts. Thus, a variety of research and information pertaining to the subject is available for secondary research, thus providing a valuable source of information for the proposed research. Apart from secondary research, the researcher also plans to incorporate some primary research into the process. For this purpose, the researcher will identify students of academic institutions studying energy sector that will then be the subjects of this primary research. The researcher will gather information for this purpose from these students, by interviewing a few selected students. In addition, the researcher will constantly be reviewing and inspecting data extracted from these interviews, as well as the information gathered through secondary research. In addition to this all, the researcher also plans to attempt gaining access to records and LPG related reports belonging to energy sector, as this would be a valuable addition to the research. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the researcher proposes a research, which will not only aid the ongoing research on growingly relevant issue, but help to make a valuable contribution to the field of academia, given they are able to achieve the outlined objectives. The proposal briefly mentions and describes the several components of the planned research, which concentrate on the future of liquefied petroleum gas. Finally, the researcher believes that the success of the research will be helpful to several parties in the future, especially those students studying this topic and potential authorities. It will aid their understanding and knowledge of how different factors will be valuable and beneficial for bright future of LPG, and will thus be a stepping-stone towards further advancement in the world. RESEARCH PLAN # Phases Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date 1 Theoretical Framework 1st week 2 Research Proposal 2nd week 3 Secondary Research 4-5th week 4 Analysis of Data 6-7th week 5 Primary Research 8-10th week 6 Interviews 11-12th week 7 Analysis 13-15th week 8 Rough Draft of Dissertation 16th week 9 Final Submission 17th week REFERENCES Ahuja, R. B., Dash, J. K., & Shrivastava P. 2011. A comparative analysis of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene related burns. Department of Burns, Plastic, Maxillofacial and Microvascular Surgery. April, pp. 59-64 Ball, Michael, & Wietschel, Martin. 2009. The hydrogen economy: opportunities and challenges. Cambridge University Press. Elvers, Barbara. 2008. Handbook of fuels: energy sources for transportation. Wiley-VCH. Gilbert, Richard, & Perl, Anthony. 2008. Transport revolutions: moving people and freight without oil. Earthscan. Hoffmann, Peter. 2002. Tomorrow's energy: hydrogen, fuel cells, and the prospects for a cleaner planet. MIT Press. International Maritime Organization. 2007. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker cargo and ballast handling simulator. IMO Publishing. Jahn, Frank, Cook, Mark, & Graham, Mark. 2008. Hydrocarbon exploration and production. Elsevier. Kohl, A. L., & Nielsen, R. B. 1997. Gas purification. Gulf Professional Publishing. Miller, George Tyler, & Spoolman, Scott. 2008. Sustaining the Earth: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. National Fire Protection Association & American National Standards Institute. 2007. Liquefied petroleum gas code. National Fire Protection Association. Onursal, B., & Gautam, S. 1997. Vehicular air pollution: experiences from seven Latin American urban centers. World Bank Publications. Parkash, S. 2009. Petroleum fuels manufacturing handbook: including specialty products and sustainable manufacturing techniques. McGraw Hill Professional. Qi, D.H., Bian, Y.Z. H., Ma, Z. H.Y., Zhang, CH. H., & Liu, SH.Q. 2007. Combustion and exhaust emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine using liquefied petroleum gas-diesel blended fuel. Energy Conversion and Management. Volume 48, Issue 2, February 2007, pp. 500-509 Raja, A. K., & Srivastava, Amit Prakash. 2007. Power Plant Engineering. New Age International. Song, Chunshan, Hsu, Chang S., & Mochida, Isao. 2000. Chemistry of diesel fuels. Taylor & Francis. Weissenbacher, Manfred. 2009. Sources of Power: How Energy Forges Human History. ABC-CLIO. Read More