Properties of Propylene Glycol
Propylene glycol appears in many products that we use regularly without our awareness of it. An odorless and colorless liquid, it has many benefits. According to the Food and Drug Administration, propylene glycol is a direct food substance generally considered safe and causes no harm to humans or the environment.
Other People Are Reading
-
A Solvent
-
Propylene glycol in liquid form is a solvent. A solvent dissolves another substance to form a liquid. Water, for example, is a solvent for sugar. It is also used as an excipient. This is a sticky substance, such as lanolin or honey, which is used to bind the contents of a medicine pill or tablet. Among other uses, it serves as a preservative and stabilizer. With these qualities and its general safe use, propylene glycol is part of numerous widely different products.
Human Uses
-
An ingredient in cosmetics, propylene glycol binds other ingredients without causing skin irritation. In addition, it helps some of those ingredients to get through the protective coating of the skin. Food flavoring and perfume fragrances employ this liquid. You will find it in such personal care products as shaving creams, sunscreens and hair shampoos. Pharmaceutical companies use it extensively in medicines they manufacture.
-
Other Uses
-
Apart from human uses, this liquid is also found in antifreeze and coolants. The aviation industry uses propylene glycol as a deicing fluid for airplane wings and airport runways.
You will find it in printing inks, laundry detergent and hydraulic fluids, like those used in your automobile brakes. Polyester fiber production makes use of propylene glycol. The military employs it for smokescreens to hide troop movements on the battlefield. It appears in varnish and disinfectants.
It serves as raw material to produce high-performance unsaturated polyester resins used for marine construction, gel coatings, sheet molding compounds and synthetic marble castings.
Dangerous?
-
With such widespread use, some people think that it is a cause of cancer and other diseases. This claim appears to have little support in scientific or government research circles. The Centers for Disease Control unit, Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (atsdr.cdc.gov) recognizes this substance as safe except in rare, unusual circumstances.
Manufacture
-
Dow Chemical Company produces about 35 percent of the world's supply of propylene glycol. It creates two levels of the product. The first is for human use and the second for industrial use. In each case, the products it becomes part of are widely used all over the world.
-
