Glycols/glycol ethers

An explosion and fire (March 13, 1991) occurred at an ethylene oxide unit at Union Carbide Chemicals Plastics Co. s Seadrift plant in Port Lavaca, TX, 125 miles southwest of Houston. The blast killed one, injured 19, and idled the facility, that also produces ethylene, ethylene glycol, glycol ether ethanolamines, and polyethylene. Twenty-five residents were evacuated for several hours as a safety precaution. The plant lost all electrical power, for a few days, because its cogeneration unit was damaged. The Seadrift plant, with 1,600 workers, is capable of making 820 million lb per year of ethylene oxide which is one-third of Carbide s worldwide production of antifreeze, polyester fibers, and surfactants Seadrift produces two thirds of Carbide s worldwide production of polyethylene. 

Although expansion and drainage are still increasing together, it can be easily seen that the polymer-stabilized foam has a drainage far below that of the typical foam (each with the same basic formulation) shown in Table III. The foam base is an alkoxy/1 inear alkyl sulfate, fatty alcohol, and glycol/glycol ether mixture, as outlined in Table VII. 

Alkene Catalyst Reaction time (h) Turnover (mol/mol Ti) H2O2 Conversion (%) Selectivity (%) Product selectivity (%) Epoxide Glycol Glycol ethers... 

Oxidation Methanol, ethanol, glycols, glycol ethers... 

ETHYL BENZENE ETHYL BROMIDE ETHYL CHLORIDE ETHYL ETHER ETHYLENE CHLOROHYDRIN ETHYLENE DIAMINE ETHYLENE DIBROMIDE ETHYLENE DICHLORIDE ETHYLENE GLYCOL ETHYLENEIMINE ETHYLENE OXIDE DIETHYL KETONE DIETHYLENE GLYCOL GLYCOL ETHERS, ESTERS MEA, DEA. TEA VINYL ACETATE POLYMERS. COPOLYMERS... 

Devillers J, Chezeau A, Thybaud E, Rahmani R. QSAR modeling of the adult and developmental toxicity of glycols, glycol ethers and xylenes to Hydra attenu-ata. SAR QSAR Environ Res 2002 13 555-66. 

For separation of the olefins, reliance was placed largely on efficient fractional distillation under pressure, using techniques now familiar to the petroleum industry the unusual feature was the low temperature required for concentration of ethylene. The main olefin reactions developed were hydration with sulfuric acid to give the alcohol, which was then dehydrogenated to the corresponding aldehyde or ketone, and conversion to the olefin oxide by reaction with hypochlorous acid. The ready commercial availability of the olefin oxides led to a continuous stream of new products, such as glycols, glycol ethers, and alkanolamines. 

BARIUM TOXIDE (1304-28-5) An oxidizer. Reacts with water or steam, forming heat and corrosive barium hydroxide may cause spontaneous combustion. Violent reaction or explosion with reducing agents, alcohols, ethers, fluorine, glycols, glycol ethers, hydrazine. 

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