Triethylene glycol is a colourless, odourless, non volatile hygroscopic liquid. It is characterised by two hydroxyl groups and two ether linkages, which contribute to its high water solubility, hygroscopicity, solvent properties and reactivity with many organic compounds. Traditionally it has been used for many of the same applications as diethylene glycol. Increasingly, however, it is displacing diethylene glycol in many of these applications on account of its lower toxicity.
The major applications for triethylene glycol are as a drying agent for natural gas, as a humectant, as a solvent and in the manufacture of vinyl plasticisers. Synonyms for triethylene glycol (TEG) are triglycol, 2,2-(Ethylene-dioxy) diethanol and ethylene glycol dihydroxydiethyl ether.
Its Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Number is 112-27-6.
