Which one among the following is a strong smelling agent added to LPG cylinder to help in the detection of gas leakage?

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which primarily consists of propane and butane, is naturally odorless and highly flammable. To ensure safety and facilitate the detection of gas leakages, a strong-smelling chemical agent is added [1]. The most common odorant used is ethyl mercaptan, also known as ethanethiol. Ethanethiol (C2H5SH) is an organosulfur compound with a structure similar to ethanol, but with a sulfur atom replacing the oxygen atom. It possesses a distinct, pungent, and disagreeable odor often described as skunk-like or like rotten eggs [1]. This odor is detectable by humans even at extremely low concentrations, such as 0.4 parts per billion. While methane is a fuel component and ethanol is an alcohol, thioethanol (ethanethiol) specifically serves as the warning agent in gas cylinders [1].

Sources

1. [1] https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ethanethiol