2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
Ethylene glycol is a slightly oily, odorless, viscous liquid. It is highly soluble in alcohols, water, acetone and turpentine. Ethylene glycol is the basis for automotive and household antifreeze, as it lowers the freezing threshold of water and aqueous solutions. An interesting fact is that even a frozen liquid does not solidify, turning into ice, but simply becomes loose. In addition, ethylene glycol aqueous solutions do not expand and therefore do not damage the pipes and radiator in the car.
This substance is very hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs water well from the environment (air, various gases). The industrial production of ethylene glycol has been established at many chemical enterprises. It should be remembered that this substance is poisonous, although it has a sweetish aftertaste. Therefore, when interacting with it, you need to take precautions. Vapors of this substance are not very toxic and can only be hazardous to he alth if they are used for a long time.inhalation. Ethylene glycol is a combustible compound. High concentrations of its vapors in the air are explosive, but when mixed with water, ethylene glycol loses these properties.
Application
Ethylene glycol is used in various fields and industries: automotive, chemical, aviation, textile, electrical, oil and gas. One of the most important areas of application of this substance is the production of coolants and antifreezes. Due to the high demand, the industrial production of ethylene glycol has become huge. This product can be used as a solvent for paint products.
Methods for obtaining ethylene glycol
There are a lot of methods for obtaining this substance, but not all of them are suitable for industrial production. One of the most popular methods is to obtain ethylene glycol from ethylene by oxidizing the latter with oxygen in the presence of a silver catalyst, and then subsequent hydration. However, another technique is still in demand.
Production of ethylene glycol by hydrolysis of ethylene chlorohydrin. In both cases, the ethylene oxide hydration reaction is carried out in the presence of catalysts and at an elevated temperature. In the literature there is also a method in which the production of ethylene glycol is carried out using the interaction of water, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide. Glycolic acid obtained in the first stage is subjected to esterification andreceive ether. It is then hydrogenated to ethylene glycol. This technique is used in the USA.
The resulting product is thoroughly cleaned, because even a small content of third-party impurities adversely affects its properties. For example, in the presence of substances such as polyglycols and diethylene glycol in the composition of ethylene glycol, its thermal stability is significantly reduced. Therefore, in a high-quality product, the percentage of third-party compounds should be minimal. This is especially true for chlorine-containing substances and aldehydes. The mass fraction of the main compound must be at least 99.5%.
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