The application of Dipropylene Glycol Dimethyl Ether

Description

Dipropylene Glycol Dimethyl Ether is also known as Dimethoxy dipropyleneglycol. This compound is an organic compound with the chemical formula C8H18O3. It is aprotic (no hydroxyl functionality) that can be used in photosensitive systems such as water-based polyurethane coatings.

Application

Dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether (DPGDME) is a versatile and environmentally friendly solvent. It is unique among propylene oxide-based solvents in that it is aprotic. Due to this, it can be used in proton-sensitive systems such as water-based polyurethane coatings. Dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether can also be used as an azeotroping solvent for esterification reactions. Moreover, with its excellent stability, solvency, and coupling performance, Dipropylene Glycol Dimethyl Ether is compatible with various agricultural formulations and cleaning products[1].

DPGDME is used for industrial and residential applications, including cleaners, coatings, and paint strippers. This is used in cleaning formulations that require stability over a wide pH range, such as paint-stripping formulations and printed circuit board cleaners. DPGDME is used as a solvent for water-based polyurethane/isocyanate coating systems and solvent-based coating systems, including architectural and industrial maintenance coatings. In addition, the applications of DPGDME, along with its structural formulation, make it suitable for measuring thermodynamic properties.

Due to this compound's ether group, dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether has been selected as a physical absorbent for CO2 absorption. Li et al. found that The ether group is more potent than the methylene group, and the ethyl group is more effective than the hydroxyl group in improving the absorption ability of the absorbents[2]. A lower temperature tends to facilitate the absorption process by increasing the absorption ability. DPGDME is a potential absorbent according to the mole and mass fraction evaluation.

References

[1] Harsh Kumar, Akanksha. “Mixing properties of binary liquid mixtures of dipropylene glycol dimethyl ether (DPGDME) with 2-propanol, 1-butanol and 2-butanol at different temperatures.” Journal of Molecular Liquids 276 (2019): Pages 562-569.

[2] Yun Li. “Solubility Measurement and Thermodynamic Properties Calculation for Several CO2 + Ether Absorbent Systems.” Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data 64 3 (2019): 1020–1028.