Illustrative packaging. Pack format confirmed with your quotation.
About This Product
Wherever a glycol could come into contact with people, food, drinking water or animals, mono propylene glycol (MPG) is normally used in place of ethylene glycol, and its low toxicity is the reason. Chemically it is propane-1,2-diol, often simply called propylene glycol (C3H8O2; CAS 57-55-6; EC 200-338-0), produced by hydrating propylene oxide. It is a clear, colourless liquid with barely any odour and a slight viscosity; it boils at about 188 °C, mixes completely with water and draws moisture from the air.
That safety margin shapes its markets. Antifreeze and heat-transfer fluids based on MPG go into systems where a leak could contaminate food, drinking water or livestock: brewery chillers, food processing lines, ground-source heat pumps and solar thermal circuits. Aircraft de-icing fluids contain it as a major component. Creams, lotions, deodorants and hair products use it as a humectant, a solvent and a penetration enhancer, and it acts as a carrier for fragrances and colours. In unsaturated polyester resins for boat hulls, tanks and cast products it is a core diol, giving resins that are compatible with styrene and balanced in flexibility.
Two qualities account for most of the trade. Resin, antifreeze, heat-transfer and de-icing producers buy the industrial grade, also called technical. Pharmaceutical, cosmetic and personal care manufacturers buy USP or EP grade, tested to the US or European Pharmacopoeia monograph, which sets limits on water, residue on ignition, heavy metals, and ethylene and diethylene glycol. Food grade (E1520) is not the same product: it has its own purity criteria and documentation, so establish exactly which grade is on offer before MPG is used in any regulated product.
Typical contract values are an assay of 99.5% minimum, water of 0.1–0.2% maximum, Pt-Co colour of 10 maximum and density of 1.035–1.038 g/cm³ at 20 °C, with acidity also agreed. Pharmacopoeia grades add residue on ignition and caps on ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, typically 0.10% maximum each. Record the agreed grade and limits in the contract and compare each certificate of analysis with that record.
MPG has no hazard classification under CLP and does not count as dangerous goods in transport, and sections 2 and 14 of the SDS are where to verify this. Importers into the EU or Great Britain should establish which company holds the REACH or UK REACH registration that covers the import and the intended use. Cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food users should obtain the corresponding grade statement and conformity documents.
Because it absorbs atmospheric moisture, MPG should be stored sealed, in stainless steel, aluminium or lined mild steel containers, somewhere dry. It is combustible, with a flash point of around 99 °C, and should be kept clear of ignition sources and strong oxidising agents.
To prepare a quotation we need the grade (industrial or USP/EP), the end use, your required limits for assay, water and glycol impurities, the pack format of choice among drum, IBC, flexitank and ISO tank, and the volumes, destination and Incoterms.
