Nice question ... we are also interested in this...

Fiberglass propane tanks (5 gallon) have been in use in the states for a few years - the advantage being they weight less. They have proved to have a short life span because of UV aging.

Very poor reception by the buying public.

http://www.comat.de/pages/Englisch/index_engl.html

Hi,

ask COMAT in Germany, they have a lot of similar applications.

(And send them greetings from me.)

RHABE

Hi 'Guest,

You have to bare in mind, as has already been said, the relatively short life of a lot of 'plastic' materials, as wear and tear caused by solar radiation is a major problem. It may be that other materials other than Fibre-glass are better suited? I am not familiar with all composites but, it would seem most are not suited due to the relatively short life etc, etc...................Especially when situated outside with no protection. Even indoors the life-span is not much improved (with regard to Fibre-glass in particular).

I really do not want to be rude but.......................if you are in the Industry already, should you not have this info anyway?

jfmfit

Please do not put Polymer Composites into samer bucket as "plastics". Composite materials including glass fiber reinforced (i.e. good ol' fiberglass) have been successfully used in the extreme UV applications i.e. gone to the Moon and Mars or corrosive environments. LPG is a rather mild application because the LPG vapor pressure is below 100bars at RT. Many successful manufacturers exist e.g. Ragasco and Scandinavian Composites (both from Norway) and Lincoln Composites, SCI and Luxfer in the USA. As for feasibility, the first step I would suggest is to look up specifications for the above mentioned companies and then ask for a quote. As for making it in India, I would suggest that a license or JV is the surest way to the market. If interested please Email me at dsantrach@mi.rr.com or phone me at (248) 477-4067 and I can take on your project to establish feasibility. Drago-thecompositesguy

Hello dragothecompositesguy:,

maybe I generalised on 'plastics' when I should have been more specific.

I do realise there is a lot of newer types of composites which, may even include Fibre-glass in them as part of their make-up, which are perhaps suited to some extent to LPG. But, I recall a 1000 litre fibre-glass tank exploding behind a factory I worked in and, it did an awful lot of damage.

I am not saying my knowledge is in anyway extensive but, would have thought fibre-glass more suited to small hand held containers and, other short life containers, and air reservoirs, rather than for possibly explosive or flammable substances. From my experience, not for a container anywhere near any domestic dwellings? Or people). Although, that was not mentioned in the original post.

But, I am basing my ideas from my experiences of over 30 years ago!

It sounds like you could be better off advising him of more up to date info'?

Take care..............

jfmfit

The TECHNICAL feasibility is not the question. Regulatory approvals and consumer acceptance are the critical factors. Steel is low cost, very durable, and very forgiving of rough handling. I do not believe you can make any composite container for lower cost than steel or aluminum. Perhaps weight considerations may drive one to composites in some applications.

Keith - Excellent points. Composites (especially carbon fiber reinforced) offer weight savings of 40%-80% v. steel at the same performance (design criteria). The premium for kg saved will be more attractive as the pressure, size and the transportation costs increase. With the price of oil (and other energy sources) going through the roof, the weight savings become more valuable. Also, composites become stronger at lower temperature and steel becomes very expensive below -20C rating. So, the initial cost may be higher for composites but the life-time cost can be substantially lower.

We want to buy LPG Cylinder (composite) material for Thailand market.

Please call +66814203227 to discuss in details.

Deerendra Dubey

General Manager

ALPHA AUTOMOBILE CO., LTD.