Names | |||
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IUPAC names | |||
Preferred IUPAC name Ethane-1,2-diol [3] | |||
Other names
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Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) | |||
3DMet | |||
Abbreviations | MEG | ||
505945 | |||
ChEBI | |||
ChEMBL | |||
ChemSpider | |||
ECHA InfoCard | 100.003.159 | ||
EC Number |
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943 | |||
KEGG | |||
MeSH | Ethylene+glycol | ||
PubChem CID | |||
RTECS number |
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UNII | |||
UN number | 3082 | ||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |||
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Properties | |||
C2H6O2 | |||
Molar mass | 62.068 g·mol−1 | ||
Appearance | colorless liquid | ||
Odor | Odorless [4] | ||
Density | 1.1132 g/cm3 (0.04022 lb/cu in) | ||
Melting point | −12.9 °C (8.8 °F; 260.2 K) | ||
Boiling point | 197.3 °C (387.1 °F; 470.4 K) | ||
Miscible | |||
Solubility | Soluble in alcohols, ethyl acetate, THF, and dioxane. Miscible with DCM and slightly miscible with diethyl ether. Not miscible with toluene or hexanes. | ||
log P | -1.69 [5] | ||
Vapor pressure | 7.99 Pa (20 °C) [4] | ||
Viscosity | 1.61×10−2 Pa·s [6] | ||
Thermochemistry | |||
Heat capacity (C) | 149.5 J/(mol·K) | ||
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 166.9 J/(mol·K) | ||
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −460 kJ/mol | ||
Hazards | |||
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |||
Main hazards | Harmful, produces poisonous oxalic acid when ingested, flammable | ||
GHS labelling: | |||
Warning | |||
H302, H373 | |||
P260, P264, P270, P301+P312, P302, P314, P330, P501 | |||
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
Flash point | 111 °C (232 °F; 384 K) closed cup | ||
410 °C (770 °F; 683 K) | |||
Explosive limits | 3.2–15.2% [4] | ||
NIOSH (US health exposure limits): | |||
PEL (Permissible) | None [4] | ||
REL (Recommended) | None established [4] | ||
IDLH (Immediate danger) | None [4] | ||
Safety data sheet (SDS) | External SDS 1 | ||
Related compounds | |||
Related diols | |||
Supplementary data page | |||
Ethylene glycol (data page) | |||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Ethylene glycol (IUPAC name: ethane-1,2-diol) is an organic compound (a vicinal diol [7] ) with the formula (CH2OH)2. It is mainly used for two purposes: as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibers and for antifreeze formulations. It is an odorless, colorless, flammable, viscous liquid. It has a sweet taste, but is toxic in high concentrations. This molecule has been observed in outer space. [8]
Ethylene glycol is produced from ethylene (ethene), via the intermediate ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide reacts with water to produce ethylene glycol according to the chemical equation
This reaction can be catalyzed by either acids or bases, or can occur at neutral pH under elevated temperatures. The highest yields of ethylene glycol occur at acidic or neutral pH with a large excess of water. Under these conditions, ethylene glycol yields of 90% can be achieved. The major byproducts are the oligomers diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, and tetraethylene glycol. The separation of these oligomers and water is energy-intensive. World production of ethylene glycol was ~20 Mt in 2010. [9]
A higher selectivity is achieved by the use of Shell's OMEGA process. In the OMEGA process, the ethylene oxide is first converted with carbon dioxide (CO2) to ethylene carbonate. This ring is then hydrolyzed with a base catalyst in a second step to produce mono-ethylene glycol in 98% selectivity. [10] The carbon dioxide is released in this step again and can be fed back into the process circuit. The carbon dioxide comes in part from ethylene oxide production, where a part of the ethylene is completely oxidized.
Ethylene glycol is produced from carbon monoxide in countries with large coal reserves and less stringent environmental regulations. The oxidative carbonylation of methanol to dimethyl oxalate provides a promising approach to the production of C
1-based ethylene glycol. [11] Dimethyl oxalate can be converted into ethylene glycol in high yields (94.7%) [12] by hydrogenation with a copper catalyst: [13]
Because the methanol is recycled, only carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and oxygen are consumed. One plant with a production capacity of 200000 tons of ethylene glycol per year is in Inner Mongolia, and a second plant in the Chinese province of Henan with a capacity of 250000 tons per year was scheduled for 2012. [14] As of 2015 [update] , four plants in China with a capacity of 200000 t/a each were operating, with at least 17 more to follow. [15]
Ethylene glycol can be produced by recycling its polymeric derivatives such a polyethylene terephthalate. [16]
According to most sources, French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz (1817–1884) first prepared ethylene glycol in 1856. [17] He first treated "ethylene iodide" (1,2-Diiodoethane) with silver acetate and then hydrolyzed the resultant "ethylene diacetate" with potassium hydroxide. Wurtz named his new compound "glycol" because it shared qualities with both ethyl alcohol (with one hydroxyl group) and glycerin (with three hydroxyl groups). [18] In 1859, Wurtz prepared ethylene glycol via the hydration of ethylene oxide. [19] There appears to have been no commercial manufacture or application of ethylene glycol prior to World War I, when it was synthesized from ethylene dichloride in Germany and used as a substitute for glycerol in the explosives industry.
In the United States, semicommercial production of ethylene glycol via ethylene chlorohydrin started in 1917. The first large-scale commercial glycol plant was erected in 1925 at South Charleston, West Virginia, by Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Co. (now Union Carbide Corp.). By 1929, ethylene glycol was being used by almost all dynamite manufacturers. In 1937, Carbide started up the first plant based on Lefort's process for vapor-phase oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide. Carbide maintained a monopoly on the direct oxidation process until 1953 when the Scientific Design process was commercialized and offered for licensing.
The major use of ethylene glycol is as an antifreeze agent in the coolant in for example, automobiles and air-conditioning systems that either place the chiller or air handlers outside or must cool below the freezing temperature of water. In geothermal heating/cooling systems, ethylene glycol is the fluid that transports heat through the use of a geothermal heat pump. The ethylene glycol either gains energy from the source (lake, ocean, water well) or dissipates heat to the sink, depending on whether the system is being used for heating or cooling.
Pure ethylene glycol has a specific heat capacity about one half that of water. So, while providing freeze protection and an increased boiling point, ethylene glycol lowers the specific heat capacity of water mixtures relative to pure water. A 1:1 mix by mass has a specific heat capacity of about 3140 J/(kg·°C) (0.75 BTU/(lb·°F)), three quarters that of pure water, thus requiring increased flow rates in same-system comparisons with water.
The mixture of ethylene glycol with water provides additional benefits to coolant and antifreeze solutions, such as preventing corrosion and acid degradation, as well as inhibiting the growth of most microbes and fungi. [20] Mixtures of ethylene glycol and water are sometimes informally referred to in industry as glycol concentrates, compounds, mixtures, or solutions.
Table of thermal and physical properties of saturated liquid ethylene glycol: [21] [22]
Temperature (°C) | Density (kg/m3) | Specific heat (kJ/(kg·K)) | Kinematic viscosity (m2/s) | Conductivity (W/(m⋅K)) | Thermal diffusivity (m2/s) | Prandtl Number | Thermal expansivity (K−1) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 1130.75 | 2.294 | 7.53×10−5 | 0.242 | 9.34×10−8 | 615 | 6.50×10−4 |
20 | 1116.65 | 2.382 | 1.92×10−5 | 0.249 | 9.39×10−8 | 204 | 6.50×10−4 |
40 | 1101.43 | 2.474 | 8.69×10−6 | 0.256 | 9.39×10−8 | 93 | 6.50×10−4 |
60 | 1087.66 | 2.562 | 4.75×10−6 | 0.26 | 9.32×10−8 | 51 | 6.50×10−4 |
80 | 1077.56 | 2.65 | 2.98×10−6 | 0.261 | 9.21×10−8 | 32.4 | 6.50×10−4 |
100 | 1058.5 | 2.742 | 2.03×10−6 | 0.263 | 9.08×10−8 | 22.4 | 6.50×10−4 |
Pure ethylene glycol freezes at about −12 °C (10.4 °F) but, when mixed with water, the mixture freezes at a lower temperature. For example, a mixture of 60% ethylene glycol and 40% water freezes at −45 °C (−49 °F). [23] Diethylene glycol behaves similarly. The freezing point depression of some mixtures can be explained as a colligative property of solutions but, in highly concentrated mixtures such as the example, deviations from ideal solution behavior are expected due to the influence of intermolecular forces. It's important to note that though pure and distilled water will have a greater specific heat capacity than any mixture of antifreeze and water, commercial antifreezes also typically contain an anti-corrosive additive to prevent pure water from corroding coolant passages in the engine block, cylinder head(s), water pump and radiator.
There is a difference in the mixing ratio, depending on whether it is ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. For ethylene glycol, the mixing ratios are typically 30/70 and 35/65, whereas the propylene glycol mixing ratios are typically 35/65 and 40/60. It is important that the mixture be frost-proof at the lowest operating temperature. [24]
Because of the depressed freezing temperatures, ethylene glycol is used as a de-icing fluid for windshields and aircraft, as an antifreeze in automobile engines, and as a component of vitrification (anticrystallization) mixtures for low-temperature preservation of biological tissues and organs.
The use of ethylene glycol not only depresses the freezing point of aqueous mixtures, but also elevates their boiling point. This results in the operating temperature range for heat-transfer fluids being broadened on both ends of the temperature scale. The increase in boiling temperature is due to pure ethylene glycol having a much higher boiling point and lower vapor pressure than pure water.
In the plastic industry, ethylene glycol is an important precursor to polyester fibers and resins. Polyethylene terephthalate, used to make plastic bottles for soft drinks, is prepared from ethylene glycol.
Ethylene glycol is used in the natural gas industry to remove water vapor from natural gas before further processing, in much the same manner as triethylene glycol (TEG).
Because of its high boiling point and affinity for water, ethylene glycol is a useful desiccant. Ethylene glycol is widely used to inhibit the formation of natural gas clathrates (hydrates) in long multiphase pipelines that convey natural gas from remote gas fields to a gas processing facility. Ethylene glycol can be recovered from the natural gas and reused as an inhibitor after purification treatment that removes water and inorganic salts.
Natural gas is dehydrated by ethylene glycol. In this application, ethylene glycol flows down from the top of a tower and meets a rising mixture of water vapor and hydrocarbon gases. Dry gas exits from the top of the tower. The glycol and water are separated, and the glycol recycled. Instead of removing water, ethylene glycol can also be used to depress the temperature at which hydrates are formed. The purity of glycol used for hydrate suppression (monoethylene glycol) is typically around 80%, whereas the purity of glycol used for dehydration (triethylene glycol) is typically 95 to more than 99%. Moreover, the injection rate for hydrate suppression is much lower than the circulation rate in a glycol dehydration tower.
Minor uses of ethylene glycol include the manufacture of capacitors, as a chemical intermediate in the manufacture of 1,4-dioxane, as an additive to prevent corrosion in liquid cooling systems for personal computers, and inside the lens devices of cathode-ray tube type of rear projection televisions. Ethylene glycol is also used in the manufacture of some vaccines, but it is not itself present in these injections. It is used as a minor (1–2%) ingredient in shoe polish and also in some inks and dyes. Ethylene glycol has seen some use as a rot and fungal treatment for wood, both as a preventative and a treatment after the fact. It has been used in a few cases to treat partially rotted wooden objects to be displayed in museums. It is one of only a few treatments that are successful in dealing with rot in wooden boats, and is relatively cheap. Ethylene glycol may also be one of the minor ingredients in screen cleaning solutions, along with the main ingredient isopropyl alcohol. Ethylene glycol is commonly used as a preservative for biological specimens, especially in secondary schools during dissection as a safer alternative to formaldehyde. It is also used as part of the water-based hydraulic fluid used to control subsea oil and gas production equipment.
Although dwarfed by its use as a precursor to polyesters, ethylene glycol is useful in more specialized areas of organic chemistry.
It serves as a protecting group in organic synthesis for manipulation of ketones and aldehydes. [25] [26] In one example, isophorone was protected using ethylene glycol: [27]
The glycol-derived dioxalane of ethyl acetoacetate is a commercial fragrance fructone. [28]
Silicon dioxide dissolves slowly in hot ethylene glycol in the presence of alkali metal base to produce silicates. [29]
Ethylene glycol has relatively high mammalian toxicity when ingested, roughly on par with methanol, with an oral LDLo = 786 mg/kg for humans. [30] The major danger is due to its sweet taste, which can attract children and animals. Upon ingestion, ethylene glycol is oxidized to glycolic acid, which is, in turn, oxidized to oxalic acid, which is toxic. It and its toxic byproducts first affect the central nervous system, then the heart, and finally the kidneys. Ingestion of sufficient amounts is fatal if untreated. [31] Several deaths are recorded annually in the U.S. alone. [32]
Antifreeze products for automotive use containing propylene glycol in place of ethylene glycol are available. They are generally considered safer to use, as propylene glycol is not as palatable [note 1] and is converted in the body to lactic acid, a normal product of metabolism and exercise. [35]
Australia, the UK, and seventeen US states (as of 2012) require the addition of a bitter flavoring (denatonium benzoate) to antifreeze. In December 2012, US antifreeze manufacturers agreed voluntarily to add a bitter flavoring to all antifreeze that is sold in the consumer market of the US. [36]
In 2022, several hundred children died of acute kidney failure in Indonesia and The Gambia because the paracetamol syrup made by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals contained ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, ingredients that have been linked to child deaths from acute kidney injury in The Gambia. [37] In December 2022, Uzbekistan's health ministry has said children died as a result of ethylene glycol in cough syrup made by Marion Biotech, which is based at Noida, near New Delhi. [38]
Ethylene glycol is a high-production-volume chemical. It breaks down in air in about 10 days and in water or soil in a few weeks. It enters the environment through the dispersal of ethylene glycol-containing products, especially at airports, where it is used in de-icing agents for runways and airplanes. [39] While prolonged low doses of ethylene glycol show no toxicity, at near lethal doses (≥ 1000 mg/kg per day) ethylene glycol acts as a teratogen. "Based on a rather extensive database, it induces skeletal variations and malformations in rats and mice by all routes of exposure." [40]
Ethylene is a hydrocarbon which has the formula C2H4 or H2C=CH2. It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene.
Petrochemicals are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as maize, palm fruit or sugar cane.
Propylene glycol (IUPAC name: propane-1,2-diol) is a viscous, colorless liquid. It is almost odorless and has a faintly sweet taste. Its chemical formula is CH3CH(OH)CH2OH. As it contains two alcohol groups, it is classified as a diol. An aliphatic diol may also be called a glycol. It is miscible with a broad range of solvents, including water, acetone, and chloroform. In general, glycols are non-irritating and have very low volatility.
Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the formula C2H4O. It is a cyclic ether and the simplest epoxide: a three-membered ring consisting of one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. Ethylene oxide is a colorless and flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor. Because it is a strained ring, ethylene oxide easily participates in a number of addition reactions that result in ring-opening. Ethylene oxide is isomeric with acetaldehyde and with vinyl alcohol. Ethylene oxide is industrially produced by oxidation of ethylene in the presence of a silver catalyst.
A diol is a chemical compound containing two hydroxyl groups. An aliphatic diol may also be called a glycol. This pairing of functional groups is pervasive, and many subcategories have been identified. They are used as protecting groups of carbonyl groups, making them essential in synthesis of organic chemistry.
An antifreeze is an additive which lowers the freezing point of a water-based liquid. An antifreeze mixture is used to achieve freezing-point depression for cold environments. Common antifreezes also increase the boiling point of the liquid, allowing higher coolant temperature. However, all common antifreeze additives also have lower heat capacities than water, and do reduce water's ability to act as a coolant when added to it.
Propylene oxide is an acutely toxic and carcinogenic organic compound with the molecular formula C3H6O. This colourless volatile liquid with an odour similar to ether, is produced on a large scale industrially. Its major application is its use for the production of polyether polyols for use in making polyurethane plastics. It is a chiral epoxide, although it is commonly used as a racemic mixture.
Propylene, also known as propene, is an unsaturated organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CH=CH2. It has one double bond, and is the second simplest member of the alkene class of hydrocarbons. It is a colorless gas with a faint petroleum-like odor.
A coolant is a substance, typically liquid, that is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a system. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, chemically inert and neither causes nor promotes corrosion of the cooling system. Some applications also require the coolant to be an electrical insulator.
Polypropylene glycol or polypropylene oxide is the polymer of propylene glycol. Chemically it is a polyether, and, more generally speaking, it's a polyalkylene glycol (PAG) H S Code 3907.2000. The term polypropylene glycol or PPG is reserved for polymer of low- to medium-range molar mass when the nature of the end-group, which is usually a hydroxyl group, still matters. The term "oxide" is used for high-molar-mass polymer when end-groups no longer affect polymer properties. Between 60 and 70% of propylene oxide is converted to polyether polyols by the process called alkoxylation.
A cryoprotectant is a substance used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage. Arctic and Antarctic insects, fish and amphibians create cryoprotectants in their bodies to minimize freezing damage during cold winter periods. Cryoprotectants are also used to preserve living materials in the study of biology and to preserve food products.
In organic chemistry, a carbonate ester is an ester of carbonic acid. This functional group consists of a carbonyl group flanked by two alkoxy groups. The general structure of these carbonates is R−O−C(=O)−O−R' and they are related to esters, ethers and also to the inorganic carbonates.
Propylene carbonate (often abbreviated PC) is an organic compound with the formula C4H6O3. It is a cyclic carbonate ester derived from propylene glycol. This colorless and odorless liquid is useful as a polar, aprotic solvent. Propylene carbonate is chiral, but is used as the racemic mixture in most contexts.
1,3-Propanediol is the organic compound with the formula CH2(CH2OH)2. This 3-carbon diol is a colorless viscous liquid that is miscible with water.
Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is an organic compound with the formula OC(OCH3)2. It is a colourless, flammable liquid. It is classified as a carbonate ester. This compound has found use as a methylating agent and as a co-solvent in lithium-ion batteries. Notably, dimethyl carbonate is a weak methylating agent, and is not considered as a carcinogen. Instead, dimethyl carbonate is often considered to be a green reagent, and it is exempt from the restrictions placed on most volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the United States.
Ethylene carbonate (sometimes abbreviated EC) is the organic compound with the formula (CH2O)2CO. It is classified as the cyclic carbonate ester of ethylene glycol and carbonic acid. At room temperature (25 °C) ethylene carbonate is a transparent crystalline solid, practically odorless and colorless, and somewhat soluble in water. In the liquid state (m.p. 34-37 °C) it is a colorless odorless liquid.
Dimethyl oxalate is an organic compound with the formula (CO2CH3)2 or (CH3)2C2O4. It is the dimethyl ester of oxalic acid. Dimethyl oxalate is a colorless or white solid that is soluble in water.
A cooling bath or ice bath, in laboratory chemistry practice, is a liquid mixture which is used to maintain low temperatures, typically between 13 °C and −196 °C. These low temperatures are used to collect liquids after distillation, to remove solvents using a rotary evaporator, or to perform a chemical reaction below room temperature.
Glycol dehydration is a liquid desiccant system for the removal of water from natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL). It is the most common and economical means of water removal from these streams. Glycols typically seen in industry include triethylene glycol (TEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), ethylene glycol (MEG), and tetraethylene glycol (TREG). TEG is the most commonly used glycol in industry.
Ethylene glycol poisoning is poisoning caused by drinking ethylene glycol. Early symptoms include intoxication, vomiting and abdominal pain. Later symptoms may include a decreased level of consciousness, headache, and seizures. Long term outcomes may include kidney failure and brain damage. Toxicity and death may occur after drinking even in a small amount as ethylene glycol is more toxic than other diols.
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