Quick propane/natural gas primer: Propane, the stuff in you gas grill tank is basically refinery "flare gas" from the oil refining process that is recovered and processed. It liquefies at minus 70 farenheight and stays liquid at around 200 PSI.
Natural gas is a "lighter" gas found during oil drilling and increasingly from very deep wells where pressure and heat have "cooked" the oil deposits into natural gas. If you get a new gas appliance you have to specify propane or natural gas. The regulators and burners are a bit different but not by a lot.
In North Dakota there is a plant that converts coal to "natural gas". We probably consume some of this here in Minnesota.
I heard a figure that in the US 3% of the natural gas is brought in by LNG tanker ships. Basically the LNG ships are giant cryogenic containers where natural gas is chilled to a liquid at around minus 300 degrees F. It is used primarily in coastal area, notably the US Northeast and Southern California. Obviously, the LNG tanker is far more complex and costly than a pipeline. The remainder of natural gas "imports" in the US come from Canada and Mexico via pipeline.
For a common application of propane look for propane tanks on forklifts with engines. Both fuels burn cleaner than gasoline.
I just saw a commercial for natural gas as a vehicle fuel. It was http://cleanskies.org The commercial claimed natural gas costs "half of other fuels" which I assume means gasoline or diesel. I haven't checked out the website yet.
I'll cross post this at my http://fourfiftygas.com
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