Propoxylates

What propoxylates are

Propoxylates are surfactants and polyols made by adding propylene oxide to an alcohol, glycol, amine, oil or alkyl phenol. Adding PO lowers foam, lowers cloud point in water and increases oil solubility compared with a straight ethoxylate of similar chain length. Dyna Glycols manufactures mixed EO/PO grades on the same alkoxylation plant used for ethoxylates.

This page is for PO-containing alkoxylates specified by starter and PO (or EO/PO) moles. Named L/P/F block copolymers with a locked %EO architecture are listed under EO/PO block copolymers. Order the page that matches how the existing TDS is written.

How Dyna Glycols manufactures propoxylates

PO, or EO and PO in a defined sequence, is added to the named starter. In-process control covers hydroxyl value, cloud point, viscosity, colour and water. Random butanol EO/PO copolymers and fatty-alcohol EO/PO grades are routine catalogue points.

Bisphenol A-2 mole PO and aminopolyols are specialty starters for coatings and rigid-foam adjacent polyols. They are specified by hydroxyl number, not by a detergent HLB.

Typical grades in this range

Name the starter and whether the chain is PO-only, random EO/PO or a block. Typical points are listed below.

• Fatty alcohol EO/PO: tridecyl, lauryl, decyl, oleyl-cetyl, oleyl, stearyl
• Glycerol polyol ~4800 MW; aminopolyol; bisphenol A-2 mole PO
• Random butanol EO/PO about 1450, 1650 and 4000 MW
• Castor oil EO/PO and nonyl phenol EO/PO
• Polyglycol L/P/F and reverse-block equivalents — see also the EO/PO block copolymer page

Where propoxylates are used

Low-foam wetting in jets, CIP, bottle wash and high-pressure cleaners is the usual reason to add PO. Rinse aids and defoaming-adjacent knockdown use reverse-block or high-PO grades.

Agro, coatings and oilfield intermediates use mixed alkoxylates when a straight ethoxylate foams too much or clouds too high. Polyol grades feed PU and coatings cross-linkers.

If APEO must be absent, do not order nonyl phenol EO/PO. Ask for a fatty-alcohol propoxylate in a similar foam window and run a paired trial.

How to specify propoxylates

Send starter, PO moles or EO/PO ratio, block vs random, hydroxyl or cloud point, foam test and APEO policy. For a polyol, send hydroxyl number, functionality and viscosity.

If the current grade is written as L-61 or 17R4, order from the EO/PO block copolymer page with those identity tests.

Quality, documents and supply

Lots are released against hydroxyl value, cloud point or viscosity, pH, water and colour. SDS and COA follow verification. Foam must be checked in the customer bath, not only in deionised water.

Warm pastes until uniform. Keep containers closed. Follow the SDS.

Practical notes on propoxylates

PO addition is still alkoxylation chemistry on the Kandla plant. The starter and the EO/PO sequence change foam more than a small MW shift.

Related pages: EO/PO block copolymers, alkoxylates, ethoxylates, paper chemicals, paints. Request a sample with the foam test and the oil or fibre.

Random copolymers do not match a block copolymer of the same overall EO percentage. Architecture belongs on the purchase specification.

Pour point of high-PO grades can be low, which is useful in cold agro solvents. State the winter handling temperature.

Hydroxyl value is the identity test for polyols. Freeze it once a trial lot is approved.

English is the source language for PO-mole and block-order claims.

Ordering and evaluating propoxylates

Dyna Glycols supports propoxylates with laboratory samples, current SDS, TDS and COA from the Kandla SEZ manufacturing network. Tell us the intended application, the substrate, the required moles or molecular weight, and any limits on colour, odour, cloud point, hydroxyl value, pH or residual feedstock. A matching catalogue grade of propoxylates in the Propoxylates family can then be confirmed, or a custom batch can be planned on the ethoxylation, esterification or related plant.

When you evaluate propoxylates, send the competitor grade if one exists, the bath or emulsion conditions, and the tests your receiving laboratory will run. Pack options for propoxylates typically include drums, IBCs and bulk where the viscosity and melting point of the selected grade allow safe handling from the Propoxylates manufacturing line.

A first order of propoxylates is easier when the purchase specification lists identity tests, not only a local trade name. Hydroxyl value, saponification value, acid value, cloud point, pH, water, colour and appearance are the numbers the Kandla QA laboratory can lock. If your QC uses a different solvent or a different cloud-point electrolyte for propoxylates, write that method on the order so the COA speaks the same language.

Custom lots of propoxylates are quoted after the hydrophobe or acid/alcohol pair, the target analytical window, the annual volume and the pack. Pilot batches are available when a catalogue point in the Propoxylates range is close but not exact. Once a trial lot is approved, that TDS should be frozen so the tenth delivery of propoxylates matches the first approved drum.

Storage of propoxylates should follow the SDS: keep containers closed, protect hygroscopic grades from moisture, and warm high-melt or high-mole grades until uniform before sampling. FIFO rotation protects colour and odour. If a drum of propoxylates has frozen or separated in transit, homogenise it before charging a batch; do not decant only the liquid layer.

Application advice for propoxylates is given against the process you describe, not as a universal recipe. Share machine type, temperature, pH, electrolytes, fibre or hide type, and any ban on APEO, formaldehyde or food-contact lists. Dyna Glycols can then sample propoxylates alone or as a pair with a sister grade from the same Propoxylates family so compatibility is checked in one evaluation.

Documentation for propoxylates is issued after a short verification of the company and the exact grade name. SDS covers handling; TDS covers typical properties; COA covers the shipping lot. If a customer audit needs extra tests on propoxylates (for example residual feedstock, peroxide, formaldehyde or a pharmacopoeia-style identity), list those tests at the enquiry stage so they are built into release rather than added after dispatch.

Export packing and labelling of propoxylates follow the transport class on the SDS. Regular industrial shipments from the Indian manufacturing network can be scheduled once the grade is approved. For development quantities of propoxylates, laboratory samples are the correct first step; they let wetting, emulsification, retanning, finishing or textile handle be proven in your own equipment before a bulk campaign is booked on the Propoxylates plant.