In the Japanese liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry, utilities must forecast the customer demand and deliver cylinders before customers run out of gas. Every utility currently faces two issues: low demand-forecast accuracy and daily-route inefficiency of drivers. Drivers travel the route daily, replace almost empty LPG cylinders only, and retain cylinders with unconsumed LPG.

However, digital-transformation technologies using Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) can resolve these issues. Because some IoT devices connected to meters have been developed in Japan, utilities can now obtain the daily customer consumption using low-cost remote sensing. We also develop routing and scheduling software that depends on AI with a logistics software company to calculate the best daily route. According to our estimates, delivery efficiency can be improved by 30% or more compared with past practices. Through trial, we found that our software is beneficial for customer satisfaction and driver management.

The size of the LPG Market as a whole can be expanded significantly through a digitally enabled supply chain. A Software as a Service (SaaS) enabled Marketplace connects all the nodes in the supply chain all the way to the customer and has the potential to digitally transform the industry, enabling existing suppliers and distributors to rapidly and efficiently reach new markets to the benefit of the industry as a whole. The Gas Village platform uses network effects to increase the number of customers and suppliers in the market by providing a one stop shop for consumers, while delivering to LPG businesses the tools they need in connecting to consumers and manage their businesses.

This paper builds on material discussed in a GTC2019 paper. A fully licensed 10yr old LPG manifold which was digitised using intrinsic safe endpoint cameras (interchangeably referred to as sensors), Computer Vision and Machine Learning algorithms. The data feed from these sensors is then integrated into existing enterprise workflow and tools to aid operations. Under field conditions, real time data parsed from these sensors are benchmarked to be of quality comparable to having a human observer is onsite.

The digitisation of said manifold was completed on 1 Jan 2020 and been in continuous operations since. Over the first 182 days of operations and as real time data progressively integrates into the enterprise workflow and tools, a Singapore based LPG distributor managed to uphold its ISO9001 objectives with significantly lesser touch points. Despite onerous circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown, no supply outages for this manifold was experienced.

Liquified Petroleum Gas industries are looking for an efficient, effective way to adequately condition with sufficient Ethyl Mercaptan (EM) LPG vessels for use on customer sites without having any ethyl
mercaptan odor fade. The mercaptan-based odorants are particularly prone to odour fade, since they readily react with iron oxides in the LPG bottles to form less odorous compounds.
It has been found that the injection of highly odorized gas with the line operating at reduced pressure is the most effective technique to obtain an adequate level of conditioning. The system developed by I.C.E. involves sweeping a proportion of the gas from a high-pressure source (Nitrogen) through liquid odorant contained in a suitably rated and constructed cylinder, before adding to the LPG bottle that is to be conditioned. The resulting gas entering the LPG bottle to be conditioned typically contains approximately ten times the normal ethyl mercaptan target concentration of 11 mg/m3 in Australia.

What Makes Reliquefaction a crucial factor in the cryogenic process in a Propane plant is the function to reduces BOG (Boil off Gas) from the propane tanks, it Liquefies BOG back to liquid phase in the process. Both cold liquids Propane and Butane are mixed to form LPG. If not handled properly BOG will create a large amount of loss of Propane. BOG occurs due to a natural increase in Propane temperature, which is normally at -42^oC, in the tank and causes a phase change from liquid to gas accompanied by an increase in pressure in the propane tank. At present, there is a decrease in coefficient of performance (CoP) of the Propane reliquefaction cycle from 2.16 to 1.90 suspected to occur. The present work attempts to reduce the compressor work by reducing the refrigerant temperature in the compressor cooler exit by utilising cold seawater of 17^oC exiting an heat exchanger between cold liquid Propane and seawater streams to replace seawater stream of 30^oC. Optimisation work has been conducted on the compressor cooler exit unit involving varying heat flux and heat transfer surface area affecting the investment cost. The optimisation results in decrease in the compressor work from 213.04 to 179.92 kJ/kg and recover CoP of the reliquefaction cycle to 2.16.

Unique and future proof LPG system for latest DI car engines up to Euro 6D emission standards. The system is equipped with own design Prins AFC-3.0 DI computer and Prins eVP-500 LPG reducer.

With this new technology in the Prins VSI-3 DI LPG system, 2020 model petrol cars with DI/MPI engine can now be converted to LPG and run smooth, efficient and cleaner than driving on petrol.

It is unique as Prins engineers went one step further than the car engineers in lowering emissions and petrol use for the latest car models. It is a unique and top notch performance that is of great benefit and value to the total LPG market worldwide – giving LPG (Autogas) a brighter future.

The session discusses the application of using gas fired tankless water heaters as a combination solution when coupled with a hydronic air handler unit to simultaneously provide central heat and domestic hot water. The solution leverages one gas appliance to provide two solutions while adding comfort to the home with high quality heat. When coupled with a condensing tankless water heater the combination also provides a high efficiency solution for domestic hot water generation and space heating.

The development status of an engine aftertreatment system designed to reduce engine emissions from LPG forklift trucks to very low levels is presented. The system was developed and patented by Tecogen Inc. for use it in its stationary natural gas and propane products used in combined heat and power applications and has been deployed successfully in the most stringent air districts in the US, notably Los Angeles, CA. For the forklift application and with funding and support from PERC and MCFA, this technology was upfitted and tested on a MCFA forklift. It was added to the exhaust system and fit compactly under the counterweight. Test results were consistant with those required for “Near Zero” certification under California certification regulation. Certification initiatives in an approved laboratory have been delayed by the COVID-19 crisis but are planned to resume when international travel restrictions are lifted.

This paper primarily aims at emerging and untapped opportunities in the LPG marketing in Rural India while leveraging technology for Business enhancement, improvement in customer service and safety.

I. This paper is submitted under DISTRIBUTION category and it would attempt to highlight role of Technology in improving distribution of LPG in rural areas.
II. This paper would aim at innovative distribution channels, Mobile LPG filling vehicles, Predictive Dynamic Delivery using AI & IoT, Delivery vehicles equipped with VTS etc.
III. Digital initiatives for LPG cylinder booking and payment collection to improve customer reach & way forward.
IV. Then the paper would focus on identifying barriers to and potential of LPG consumption in rural markets.
V. It will also focus on the opportunities & challenges Oil Marketing Companies and Parallel Marketing Companies are facing in rural marketing.
VI. Outlook on likely changes in the overall LPG business landscape in India.