Solvents and Glycols

Formulating performance advantages in a wide range of products 

Solvents are chemical compounds used to dissolve, suspend or extract other materials. Oxygenated solvents are organic solvents containing oxygen molecules, created through chemical reactions from olefins. They offer high solvency with low toxicity and encompass a range of alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters, glycols, glycol ethers and ketones used in coatings, cosmetics, cleaners and heat transfer fluids, among many other applications. They are also used in a wide variety of end-use products and as intermediates in the production of functional products.

Oxygenated solvents offer a range of solvency, water solubilities and volatilities that present a wide variety of formulating advantages for many products across various markets, including beauty and personal care; home care, industrial and institutional cleaning; paints, inks and coatings; building, construction and infrastructure; and food and beverage.

The versatile solvency, emolliency, and coupling and coalescing abilities of oxygenated solvents enable them to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of consumer and industrial products across a wide range of markets and applications.

Alcohols

• Low molecular weight, water soluble alcohols are used as solvents for producing protective coatings, dyes and inks; plastics, flavorings, perfumes, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, cleaners and polishes.
• High molecular weight, less soluble alcohols help provide a balance of desired properties in a formulation, such as viscosity, flow and leveling, and cure rate. They are used as latent solvents and coupling agents in solvent-based and waterborne coatings, respectively, as well as intermediates for plasticizers, surfactants, lubricants, pesticides and pharmaceuticals.

Carboxylic Acid

• Carboxylic acids are used in a wide variety of applications such as stabilizers, plasticizers, coatings additives, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, perfumes, food additives, preservatives and chemical intermediates.

Esters

• Acetic – miscible with many common organic solvents, acetic esters offer good solvency power for many natural and synthetic resins and are used across a wide range of industries and applications, including coatings, lacquer thinners, wood lacquers, printing inks, aerosol sprays, and pharmaceutical processing.
• Propionic – offering reduced viscosity and improved solvent diffusion, propionic esters provide substantial flexibility in formulating automotive refinish, OEM, electrostatic spray, and appliance coatings. They are also commonly used in cleaning fluids and printing inks, and as polymerization solvents for high solids acrylics resins.

Glycol Ethers

• E series – excellent solvency, chemical stability, and compatibility with water and a number of organic solvents make them useful as chemical intermediates and in a broad array of applications, including cosmetics, cleaners and textiles.
• P series – used in protective coatings for industrial, automotive, household cleaning and architectural applications; they also offer an extensive combination of physical and performance properties for formulations in a wide range of cleaning applications.