ESO 25(5) #3871

Energy Sources, 25:373382, 2003 Copyright 2003 Taylor & Francis 0090-8312/03 $12.00 + .00 DOI: 10.1080/00908310390142398

Liqueed Petroleum Gas in Turkeys Energy Sources

ARIF HEPBASLI ALTAN AYTAC KARAKUS
Mechanical Engineering Department 5 Faculty of Engineering Ege University Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

MEHMET ERKEK
Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences 10 Ege University Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
LPG (or LP gas) stands for liqueed petroleum gas. Choosing LPG as an energy source represents a valuable contribution to the ongoing ght to conserve energy and protect the environment. The main objective of the present study is to investigate the share of LPG in Turkeys energy sources by presenting its historical development. Since the beginning of the 1960s, LPG has been used as an alternative to city gas and kerosene in Turkey, while the rst LPG use in cogeneration plants was in 1996 in Denizli, Turkey. The consumption of petroleum products in 2000 was 34 million tons, of which about 13.2% was accounted for by LPG. Only due to the price, LPG did not reach the desired position in cogeneration applications with a value of under 1%. However, autogas-LPG used as an automotive fuel has rapidly established itself in the country. The role of the government is also crucial for the sustained development of the LPG market in Turkey. Keywords liqueed petroleum gas, LPG, LP gas, energy sources, fuel, Turkey

Although Turkey produces and consumes all kinds of energy resources, imports supply more than 60% of the energy requirement of the country. In 1999, primary energy consumption was 76.6 Mtoe (million tons of oil equivalent), while production was 27.1 Mtoe and only 35% of demand was met by domestic sources. The energy demand will depend on imported energy in the future more than at present, for instance, 72% and 76% in 2010 and 2020, respectively. On the other hand, Turkeys energy system is based primarily on fossil fuels. The share of fossil fuels in total energy consumption of the country increased from 36.4% (2.5 Mtoe) in 1950 to 86.7% (66.4 Mtoe) in 1999. The annual rate
Received 23 February 2002; accepted 14 May 2002. Address correspondence to Arif Hepbasli, Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir 35100, Turkey. E-mail: hepbasli@bornova.ege.edu.tr and hepbasli@egenet.com.tr

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of increase of this share was much higher before the 19731978 oil crisis period than after the shocks (Ediger and Tatlidil, 2002). The Turkish energy policy is mainly concentrated on the assurance of a reliable and economical energy supply. The environmental impact is also considered by attempting to balance targeted growth and social developments (Hepbasli and Ozalp, 2003). In this regard, with 12% and 20% shares of the primary energy market, coal and lignite are likely to preserve their share for the next 25 years. The share of oil in energy demand will drop from 52% in 1995 to about 36% in 2020, but it will remain the main energy source, while that of natural gas will jump from 11.3% in 1995 to 37% in 2010 (Demirbas, 2001). LPG (or LP gas) stands for Liqueed Petroleum Gas. It is the term widely used to describe a family of light hydrocarbons called gas liquids. The most prominent members of this family are propane (C3 H8 ) and butane (C4 H10 ). Other members of the LPG family are ethane and pentane. These latter fuels have their own distinctive markets and are not further included in this study. LPG is a derivative of 2 large energy industries, namely, (i) natural gas processing and (ii) crude oil rening (WLPGA, 2002). Based on the gures of the World LP Gas Association, which was established in 1987 in Dublin, Ireland, under the initial name of the World LPG Forum and which aims at promoting the use of LPG as clean, all-purpose and efcient fuel, gas processing worldwide is a source of approximately 60% of LPG produced. Beside this, crude oil rening is the source of the other roughly 40% of LPG supplies although the ratio between gas processing and rening varies among regions (WLPGA, 2002). The distribution of LPG sales in Europe in 1999 is given in Table 1, while LPG consumption worldwide is illustrated in Table 2 (LG, 2002; MCHOGC, 2002). It is clear from these tables that about 191 million tons were consumed worldwide in 1999, of which 31.47% were in North America, while Italy had the biggest share in total in terms of autogas (or automotive LPG) use in Europe. Additionally, in Turkey, LPG consumption was realized as 3.34 million tons in the same period (Uzdil, 2001), representing nearly 1.8% of the world total. The recent expansion of the LPG industry in Turkey has demonstrated the long-term potential for the regional LPG markets. The main objectives in doing the present study are twofold, namely, (i) to analyze the current status of LPG use in Turkey and (ii) to determine its place among the other energy resources in the country.

Brief History of LPG in Turkey

LPG was discovered in the early 1900s. Throughout the years thousands of applications have been developed to make use of this clean burning, all-purpose, readily available, and efcient fuel (WLPGA, 2002). In this context, LPG began to be used as an alternative to city gas and kerosene in Turkey in the beginning of the 1960s. The rst LPG gas bottle lling was done by Ipragaz Inc. in 1962. From the early 1970s onward, LPG met the energy needs of big industrial concerns through big bulk LPG facilities. Since the early 1990s, parallel to the more widespread use of natural gas, which is the fastest growing primary energy source in Turkey (Yazici and Demirbas, 2001), LPG began by means of small LPG tanks to be widely used rst in industry and later in homes. In the case of bulk LPG, which has a very large user group, LPG is used everywhere there is a need for heating, cooking, processing, or energy. In Turkey the rst LPG use in cogeneration was carried out by Ipragaz Inc. in 1996 in Denizli. Following this application, many

Liqueed Petroleum Gas in Turkeys Energy Sources Table 1 Distribution of LPG sales in Europe as of 1999 (in 1,000 tons) Countries Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark England Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Luxemburg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Sweden Switzerland Slovenia Spain Total
Source: LG, 2002.

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Gas cylinders 22 80 41 24 18 782 193 191 41 21 19 8 460 646 464 19 36 1,795 5,195

Small bulk 141 280 122 56 212 2,426 1,493 114 101 4 760 110 549 414 18 64 45 773 8,815

Total 163 360 163 80 230 3,208 1,686 305 142 3,796 25 779 118 1,009 1,060 482 83 81 2,568 17,806

Share of autogas in total 1 97 65 7 5 293 8 3 2 1,322 3 646 3 19 37 2,926

Table 2 LPG consumption worldwide in 1999 (in 1,000 tons) Sales 1999 Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total North Americaa Central America South America Western and Central Europe Former Soviet Union Middle East Africa Asia Australia World 60,174 11,682 15,106 28,415 4,805 10,773 6,731 51,340 2,190 191,216 % of total 31.47 6.11 7.90 14.86 2.51 5.63 3.52 26.85 1.15 100.00 Change v. 98 in % 3.2 7.9 3.6 1.7 1.3 10.8 6.40 8.90 3.70 4.70

a USA, Canada.

Source: LG, 2002; MCHOGC, 2002.

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other cogeneration facilities using LPG were established in Turkey. Parallel to its rapid development in recent years LPG, which is an environmentally-friendly gas fuel, has also taken its place in the Turkish market as autogas since 1996 (Aratay, 2001). Production, storage, transportation, use, and handling practices of the fuel and related equipment are subject to strict standards and regulations by many international, national, and local authorities. Because LPG has a long history of use, codes and standards continue to evolve as new uses are found and new technologies are developed (WLPGA, 2002). Considering governments may provide standards and regulation of the industry and/or equipment, the Turkish Standards Institution (TSI, called TSE in Turkey) is responsible for preparing all national standards. There are numerous standards issued by TSI in Turkey and they are contained in numerical form in a catalogue consisting of 2 volumes (TSI, 1998a,b). In the catalogue, the standards are classied according to the International Classication for Standards (ICS) system that is prepared by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and adopted by ISO member bodies. In this regard, since 1973 many Turkish standards such as handling, inspection, testing, and storage of LPG have been issued by TSI.

Major Uses of LPG in Turkey

Choosing LPG as an energy source represents a valuable contribution to the ongoing ght to conserve energy and protect the environment. With a wealth of applications, LPG offers numerous ways to provide energy and combat pollution at the same time. LPG has literally thousands of uses around the home, on the farm, in commercial business, in industry, and in transportation. Wherever heat, light, or power is required, LPG can be used (WLPGA, 2002). In this context, the use of LPG that began in the early 1960s reached an amount of 4.5 million tons in 2000, as can be seen in Figure 1. The share of

Figure 1. LPG use in Turkey between 1965 and 2000. (Source: Aratay, 2001.)

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LPG in the primary energy production reached a considerable value (6%) at the beginning of the 2000s (Akkan, 2002). The LPG Market in Turkey The use of petroleum products in 2000 was 34 million tons, of which about 13.2% was accounted for by LPG. Besides this, the amount of natural gas used in Turkey in 2000 exceeded 14 billion m3 , with an LPG equivalent of approximately 10.5 million tons. This means that in 2000 the share of LPG and natural gas in the gas fuel market was 30% and 70%, respectively. It is also estimated that this ratio will change in favor of natural gas with the handling of new natural gas projects (Aratay, 2001). Main Developments Between 1990 and 2000 The share of LPG segments in the Turkish market between 1994 and 2000 is shown in Figure 2. The total LPG market has always been in a growing trend. The LPG use annually was 1.6 million tons in 1990, but in 2000 this value reached 4.5 million tons. There was a growth of 180% between 1990 and 2000. While the growth between 1990 and 1995 was 50%, it increased to 88% between 1995 and 2000. The highest growth rate in this 10 year period occurred in 2000 and was 33%. As a result of the economic difculties in Turkey, in 2001 the LPG use in the country also began a course of decrease. During the time that the total LPG market was growing, the share of each segment (autogas, 245 kilo cylinders or bottles, and storage containers or bulk storage) changed considerably. In 2000 the LPG market experienced a big expansion due to the rapid growth of the autogas segment. Parallel to this, the autogas segment increased its share in the market from 5% in 1997 to 29% in 2000 (Aratay, 2001).

Figure 2. The share of LPG segments in the Turkish market between 1994 and 2000. (Source: Akkan, 2002.)

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In Turkey, LPG is marketed in 3 different segments as follows. LPG Cylinders (or Bottles). This market has a 2.2% average growth annually, but is about to saturate. In Turkey the gas cylinders (or bottles) are marketed in 4 different sizes, with 2 kg (picnic), 12 kg (domestic), 24 kg (commercial), and 45 kg (industrial) gas bottles (Akkan, 2002). LPG in this form is used in domestic applications for cooking and heating purposes. It also supplies the energy needs in industrial concerns for cooking and various processes (Tasdelen, 2000) Storage Containers (or Bulk Storage). This is the type of marketing where LPG is transported to the site by a tanker and is stored there in a tank. This is mostly used by the industrial concerns. In Turkey, generally, there are 2 types of storage applications, namely, (1) small storage systems having tank volumes ranging from 0.5 to 10 m3 used in small industrial plants, greenhouses, and residential heating, and (2) larger storage systems with tank volumes varying from 35 to 180 m3 for meeting the energy requirements of industrial institutions consuming energy in larger amounts (Akkan, 2002). These systems can be used for steam and hot water production and also for processes such as soldering, drying, and cutting. Some industrial applications of LPG in Turkey are listed below (Tasdelen, 2000). (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) In the glass industry LPG is used for shaping and forging. In the ceramic industry it is used as the heat supply for ovens. In the textile sector it nds its use in drying and ironing applications. The metal industry uses LPG for preheating and melting processes. LPG is used for heating purposes in agriculture.

Autogas. LPG is the preferred alternative automotive transportation fuel. Recognized early on in the search for viable alternative fuels, autogas is today the most important and accepted alternative fuel in the automotive sector with more than 5.5 million vehicles operating in 38 countries (WLPGA, 2002). In Turkey, this branch has grown more than the other 2 segments in recent years. LPG Use in Turkey by Cities The distribution of LPG use in Turkey by cities in 2000 is given in Table 3, while the variation of the LPG consumption according to the type of use between 1998 and 2000 is illustrated in Table 4 (Uzdil, 2001). Of the countries reviewed in this study, LPG consumption is very heavily concentrated in the vicinity of capitals and major cities. The 3 biggest cities, namely, Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, by population in the country accounted for 36.5% of total national use in 2000. It is also clear from Table 4 that autogas-LPG used as an automotive fuel increased from 4.7% in 1998 to 26.7% in 2000 because of the impressive environmental benets that it offers and its cost advantages over gasoline, diesel, and other alternative automotive fuels. Besides this, its use in the form of gas cylinders decreased considerably in the same period.

Position of LPG in the Turkish Petroleum Sector

Generally, the operation volume of the petroleum sector in the government budget ranges from 40% to 45%, and the share of the petroleum sector in tax incomes reaches

Table 3 LPG use in Turkey by cities in 2000 (tons) LPG (gas cylinder) LPG (heating) LPG (industrial) LPG (electric) LPG (autogas) Total

Cities

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Adana Ankara Antalya Aydin Balikesir Bilecik Bursa Denizli Eskisehir Gaziantep Hatay Icel Istanbul Izmir Kocaeli Konya Manisa Sakarya Samsun Tekirdag Usak Other Total Share in total use (%)

41,846 110,246 32,728 20,837 31,263 4,855 56,089 19,458 19,360 26,355 23,158 31,573 317,831 114,167 40,076 37,330 30,481 20,800 28,970 17,382 7,318 467,398 1,499,521 47.6

203 710 178 14 5 1,054 406 65 67 36 45 21 6,810 296 503 27 5 212 45 130 26 1,262 12,120 0.4

9,528 35,321 37,604 9,010 7,567 25,957 21,435 13,494 19,473 7,742 5,703 19,330 123,585 88,038 64,035 17,142 31,426 30,445 1,723 32,271 18,975 146,685 766,489 24.3

0 0 0 10,860 0 0 37 7,421 0 0 0 0 2 12,391 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,032 31,789 1.00

23,602 99,798 33,139 8,968 8,232 1,288 21,541 6,406 7,849 8,670 9,201 15,542 202,473 39,298 12,979 36,041 8,874 13,612 22,323 5,801 2,728 252,590 840,955 26.7

75,179 246,075 103,649 49,689 47,067 33,154 99,508 46,844 46,749 42,803 38,107 66,466 650,701 254,190 117,639 90,540 70,786 65,069 53,061 55,584 29,047 868,967 3,150,874 100.0

Source: Uzdil, 2001.

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A. Hepbasli et al. Table 4 Variation of LPG consumption according to the types of uses between 1998 and 2000 Of total in percentage Types of uses Gas cylinder Industrial Autogas Electricity Heating Total
Source: Uzdil, 2001.

1998 67.2 27.4 4.7 0.5 0.2 100.0

1999 64.2 25.4 9.1 0.9 0.4 100.0

2000 47.6 24.3 26.7 1.0 0.4 100.0

nearly 25%. In the petroleum sector, which has a big part in the national economy, LPG consumption is around 4 million tons. Table 5 shows the LPG production-use balance of Turkey between 1961 and 2000. As can be seen in this table, 218,000 tons of LPG was consumed in 1970. Of this, 33% was met by importation while the rest was being produced in reneries. However, taking into account the balance in the last decade, it may be concluded that importation has signicantly increased and the ratio of importation to use reached 85% by the year 2000. Today, TUPRAS, which is a state-owned joint stock company operating reneries, is responsible for the implementation of the supplying works of petroleum products. LPG is marketed to consumers by distribution rms and seller organizations. In 2000, the consumption of petroleum products was 30 million tons, of which 87% was accounted for by liquid fuel while LPG constituted the rest. In Turkey, the number of rms marketing liquid fuel and LPG is 13 and 45, respectively (Uzdil, 2001).

Position of LPG in Cogeneration Applications

Cogeneration has played for the last few years a signicant part in the Turkish energy strategy, with plans to satisfy a considerable portion of Turkeys requirements for electricity from cogeneration. Up to 1994, only 4 cogeneration plants were operated, representing a total capacity of 30 MWe . As of March 2000, 80 autoproduction (the production of electricity by industrial facilities for their own use in Turkey based on the Turkish Trade Law is called autoproduction) facilities with a total capacity of 2,079 MW were placed in operation. The average rate of increase of power generated by autoproducers between 1997 and 2000 was about 25%. The total capacity of autoproducers is expected to grow by 281% by 2005, representing 20% of the total capacity of Turkey (Hepbasli and Ozalp, 2002a,b). In the cogeneration applications, natural gas is preferred as a fuel in regions where it is available because it is efcient, cheap, and clean. The share of gas fuel used in cogeneration plants was 66% in 2000, followed by fuel oil at 22%, naphtha at 3%, LPG at 1%, and other fuels at 8%. The portion of LPG in cogeneration decreased due to the rapid rise of its price in a short period. Today, the use of LPG in cogeneration plants is under 1%, although the LPG consumption once reached 5% levels in the cogeneration

Liqueed Petroleum Gas in Turkeys Energy Sources Table 5 The LPG production-use balance of Turkey between 1961 and 2000 (in 1,000 tons) Years 1961 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 a 2000 Production (P) 0.63 47 146 371 373 464 483 561 692 670 676 646 653 686 702 749 778 748 791 736 551 Importation (I) 72 170 348 454 481 585 618 776 895 1,013 1,182 1,378 1,366 1,607 1,710 2,100 2,393 2,599 3,113 Use (U) 0.63 47 218 541 747 934 1,024 1,184 1,336 1,437 1,566 1,663 1,826 2,072 2,067 2,362 2,489 2,873 3,174 3,340 3,673 % Share (I/U) 100 33 31 47 49 47 49 46 54 57 61 65 67 66 68 69 73 75 78 85

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Source: Uzdil, 2001. a The values are based on a 10 month period.

energy market of Turkey (Irsidar, 2000; Aratay, 2001). It is also pointed out that only due to the price, LPG did not reach its desired position in the cogeneration applications. The usage of environmentally-friendly LPG is encouraged in developed countries, whereas a heavy fuel consumption tax is added to the LPG price in Turkey. Besides this, the alternative fuels, which are less environmentally-friendly, are exempted from this tax or are subject to a negligible amount of this tax (Aratay, 2001).

Conclusions
The main conclusions that may be drawn from the present study on the share of LPG in Turkeys energy sources are listed below. (a) Since the beginning of the 1960s, LPG has been used as an alternative to city gas and kerosene in Turkey. The recent expansion of the LPG industry in Turkey has demonstrated the long-term potential for the regional LPG markets. (b) In 2000, the share of LPG and natural gas in the gas fuel market was 30% and 70%, respectively. It is also estimated that this ratio will change in favor of natural gas with the handling of new natural gas projects.

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A. Hepbasli et al. (c) In Turkey, the rst LPG use in cogeneration was in 1996 in Denizli, Turkey. Following this application, many other cogeneration facilities using LPG were established in the country. The use of LPG in cogeneration plants is, however, under 1% today. (d) In Turkey, LPG is marketed in 3 different segments, namely, LPG cylinder, bulk storage (storage container), and autogas. Among these, autogas (or automotive LPG) is the branch that has grown the most of the 3 segments in recent years. (e) In meeting the increasing demands for more environmentally-friendly automotive fuels, the role of policymakers is critical. (f) In 2000, the consumption of petroleum products was 30 million tons, of which nearly 87% was accounted for by liquid fuel while LPG constituted the rest. (g) Since 1973 many Turkish standards, such as handling, inspection, testing, and storage of LPG, have been issued by the Turkish Standards Institution.

References
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