Credit: u/Planck_Savagery
Ok, but how is propane “clean”?
Less soot than kerosene.
And kerosene is clean, because it has less soot than raw oil?
Relatively speaking, I suppose it would be. Though rocket engines tend to be pretty delicate, and I’m not aware of any which could stomach stright-up raw oil. Even the “kerosene” used in kerolox engines is a riffled form of kerosene known as RP-1.
That’s the neat part about clean energy, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s a term made up by the energy industry to compete with the idea of green energy so that people conflate the two. What is meant by clean energy in this context is that it doesn’t produce unwanted products from side reactions. It just makes CO2 and H2O unlike say coal which can produce SOx and NOx or Bunker fuel used in container ships which creates all sorts of nasty shit when it burns. Green energy on the other hand means that it produces very little if any CO2.
RP1, wich is used by Falcon 9 and others, has more combustion products that aren’t just CO₂ or H₂O than propane. Still not ‘clean’ as in ‘no global warming potential’ but probably a liiiitle bit better.
So, greenwashing?
Pretty much.
You can technically burn tires for energy.
They absolutely do burn tires in cement kilns.
One small launch for rocket, one giant leap for propane and propane accessories!
Propulsion and propulsion accessories.
Gud dammit Elon (Bobby), LP has way more energy that LNG.
There is something wrong w/ that boy…
As opposed to SpaceX, which uses “Natural Gas” like the kind your water heater probably uses