At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, propane is a colorless, flammable, nontoxic gas, with a characteristic natural gas odor.
Propane is one of the group of liquefied petroleum gases.
Propane is also used as a fuel for intraplant trucking where gasoline fumes are considered to be obnoxious. It is also used as a refrigerant gas and as a thermobulk fill for temperature and pressure control instruments. It has been used as a low temperature extraction solvent. It has been used extensively as a refrigerant in chemical, petroleum refining, and gas processing operations, and as a selective solvent for removing asphaltic components from the higher boiling fractions of crude oils. It is obtained there by refining and processing operations.