Authors: Sidrah Zafar, DPhil in Organic Chemistry & Maria Henin, DPhil in Organic Chemistry
Ethylene Glycol is an alcohol with two hydroxyl groups attached on adjacent carbons thus making it a dihydroxy alcohol (“Ethylene Glycol”, 2004). This sweet tasting compound is void of colour and odour and has gone from being comparatively uncommon to commercially obtainable (“Ethylene Glycol”, 2004; Fuller, 1924). The numerous applications of ethylene glycol in industry has created a large demand for its production (Fuller, 1924).
Ethylene glycol was first discovered by French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz in 1856 (Laukkonen, 2013). He reacted potassium hydroxide with ethylene chlorohydrin to create ethylene glycol (McClellan, 1950). At first, Wurtz could not find a legitimate use for this compound but soon after in World War I (1914-1918), the Germans synthesized ethylene glycol from ethylene chloride to manufacture explosives (Laukkonen, 2013).
In 1920, the company “Union Carbide” established the first manufacturing company for ethylene glycol by the name “Union Carbide Corporation” (“Union Carbide Corporation”, n.d.). The first commercial plant was built in South Charleston, West Virginia in 1923 for the purpose of manufacturing ethylene-based products (“Union Carbide Corporation”, n.d.).
More recently, raw ethylene glycol is used in the production of plastic and polyester fibers and accounts for approximately 40% of the total commercial application of the compound (“The Chemical Company”, n.d.). It is specifically used as a precursor to polyethylene terephthalate, which is used to make plastic (“The Chemical Company”, n.d.).
Antifreeze production makes up the other 50% of the total use of commercial ethylene glycol (“The Chemical Company”, n.d.). Due to its ability to lower the freezing point of water up to -50 degrees C, polyethylene glycol is now used as a popular antifreeze agent for aeroplanes and airport runways (Ritter, 2001). Recently, ethylene glycol is slowly being replaced by propylene glycol due to its lower toxicity (Ritter, 2001). However, there is a substantial lack of evidence that polyethylene glycol has been used to de-ice streets in other countries.
Fun fact! Ethylene glycol plays a vital role in the production of plastic as it is a precursor to the formation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (“The Chemical Company”, n.d.). The caterpillar Galleria mellonella has been found to possess certain gut bacteria that is capable of breaking down PET back to its constituents and is often commercialized as the “solution to the world’s plastic problem” (Pennisi, 2017).
References
“Ethylene Glycol” (September 16, 2004). National Center for Biotechnology Information. In PubChem Compound Database. Retrieved March 15, 2018 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/174
Fuller, H. C. (1924). Ethylene Glycol—Its Properties and Uses. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, 16(6), 624–626. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie50174a038
Laukkonen, JD. (September 20, 2013). The History of Antifreeze. Crankshift. Retrieved March 15, 2018 from http://www.crankshift.com/history-of-antifreeze/
McClellan, P. P. (1950). Manufacture and Uses of Ethylene Oxide and Ethylene Glycol. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, 42(12), 2402–2407. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie50492a013
Ritter, Steve. (2001). AIRCRAFT DEICERS. Chemical & Engineering News: WHAT’S THAT STUFF?, 70 (1), 30-31. Retrieved from http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/7901scit5.html
“The Chemical Company”. (n.d.). Ethylene Glycol. Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://thechemco.com/chemical/ethylene-glycol/
“Union Carbide Corporation”.(n.d.). History. Retrieved March 16, 2018, from http://www.unioncarbide.com/History
Pennisi, Elizabeth. (2017). Could this caterpillar help solve the world’s plastic bag problem?. American Association for the Advancement of Science. doi:10.1126/science.aal1096
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