Monoethylene glycol (MEG) - Моноэтиленгликоль (МЭГ): Ethylene glycol, also called ethane-1,2-diol, the simplest member of the glycol family of organic compounds. A glycol is an alcohol with two hydroxyl groups on adjacent carbon atoms (a 1,2-diol). The common name ethylene glycol literally means “the glycol derived from ethylene.”
Ethylene glycol is a chemical commonly used in many commercial and industrial applications including antifreeze and coolant. Ethylene glycol helps keep your car’s engine from freezing in the winter and acts as a coolant to reduce overheating in the summer. Other important uses of ethylene glycol include heat transfer fluids used as industrial coolants for gas compressors, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, and ice skating rinks.
Ethylene glycol also is used as a raw material in the production of a wide range of products including polyester fibers for clothes, upholstery, carpet and pillows; fiberglass used in products such as jet skis, bathtubs, and bowling balls; and polyethylene terephthalate resin used in packaging film and bottles. Many of these products are energy saving and cost efficient as well as recyclable.
Ethylene glycol is a clear, sweet, slightly viscous liquid that boils at 198 °C (388.4 °F). Its most common use is as an automotive antifreeze. A 1:1 solution of ethylene glycol and water boils at 129 °C (264.2 °F) and freezes at −37 °C (−34.6 °F), serving as an excellent coolant in automotive radiators. Ethylene glycol is highly poisonous; animals or humans that drink the solution become very ill and may die.
In addition to its use in antifreeze, ethylene glycol is used as an ingredient in hydraulic fluids, printing inks, and paint solvents. It is also used as a reagent in making polyesters, explosives, alkyd resins, and synthetic waxes.