Welcome to the propylene glycol website

On this site you will find comprehensive information about the production, main uses and health and safety aspects of propylene glycol, as well as answers to the most frequently asked questions. You can also download our brochure here.

The contents in this website are provided by the group representing the producers of propylene glycol within Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Association.

Please see also our Disclaimer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Propylene glycol

is a chemical made by reaction of propylene oxide with water. For more than five decades propylene glycol has had an unsurpassed reputation for safe use in a wide range of consumer products, including foodstuffs, animal feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, as well as industrial applications.

 

The use and effects of propylene glycol have been thoroughly researched. It has been used safely for more than 50 years, including adoption in health-sensitive applications such as food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, where the molecule mainly serves as non-active ingredient or carrier of other substances.

Studies have proven that propylene glycol has a very low degree of toxicity. In the body, propylene glycol is rapidly converted into lactic acid, in a similar manner to what happens with with sugar (energy) in the muscles during sports.

For the environment, studies have shown that propylene glycol is neither persistent nor does it bio-accumulate - it is readily biodegradable.

Propylene glycol has a very simple chemical structure:

The two parts of the molecule, the alcohol groups ("OH", likes water) and the hydrocarbon backbone ("CH", likes oil), represent fundamental chemical characteristics. Their behaviour both in industrial processes, as well as in the human body or in the environment, is well understood.

In the human body, propylene glycol is quickly metabolised and excreted. Its metabolic pathway is comparable to that of sugar: propylene glycol is rapidly converted into lactic acid, in a similar manner to what happens with sugar (energy) in the muscles during sports. It is the lactic acid in your muscles which makes them ache following intensive exercise. Lactic acid, the metabolite of propylene glycol, therefore, is also naturally present in our bodies. It is excreted via urine.

In the environment, tests have shown that propylene glycol is readily biodegradable.

Studies show that propylene glycol has a very low degree of toxicity. From a toxicological point of view, alcohol is more toxic than the same amount of propylene glycol.