What Are the Main Applications of Polyether Polyol

Polyether polyol (polyether for short) is a kind of synthetic oil with the largest sales volume at present. It is a linear polymer made from ethylene oxide, epoxypropane, epoxybutane and other raw materials by ring-opening homopolymerization or copolymerization under the action of catalyst. Polyether polyol is the largest producer of polyethers, with glycerinum (glycerin) as the initiator and epoxides (generally PO and EO are used together), all kinds of general polyether polyols are produced by changing the feeding way (mixed or separately added), dosage ratio, feeding order and other conditions of PO and EO. The main applications are as follows:

1. Detergent or defoaming agent

Polyether polyol can be used for the preparation of synthetic detergents with low foaming and high detergency, and used as the defoaming agent in paper making or fermentation industry as well as a defoaming agent to prevent air from entering the blood during the blood circulation on an artificial heart-lung machine.

2. Excipient and emulgator

Polyether has low toxicity and is often used as drug excipient and emulsifier, which is often used in oral and nasal sprays, eye and ear drops as well as shampoos.

3. Wetting agent

Polyether is an effective wetting agent and can be used in dyeing fabric, photographic development and electroplating acid bath. F68 is used in sugar mills to obtain more sugar due to the increased water permeability.

4. Antistatic agent

Polyether is a useful antistatic agent, which can provide enduring electrostatic protection to synthetic fiber.

5. Dispersing agent

Polyether is used as dispersants in emulsion coatings. It can be used as the emulsifier in the polymerization of vinyl acetate emulsion. Besides, it is a pesticide emulsifier in agriculture, a coolant and lubricant in metal cutting and grinding and a lubricant in vulcanization.

6. Demulsifier

Polyether can be used as a demulsifier for crude oil, which can effectively prevent the formation of hard scales in oil pipelines and can be used for the recovery of secondary oil.

7. Papermaking additives

Polyether can be used as a papermaking additive, which can effectively improve the quality of coated paper. It can also be used as a bleaching agent.

8. Preparation and application

Polyether polyol series products are mainly used in the preparation of rigid polyurethane foaming plastics, widely used in refrigerators, freezers, refrigerated vehicles, thermal baffles, piping insulation and other fields. The products produced with polyether polyol have low heat conductivity coefficient and stable size, and polyether polyol is also an important raw material for the preparation of premixed polyether polyols.

The production of polyether polyol is mainly used in polyurethane foaming plastics in the polyurethane industry. The main types include polyoxypropylene polyol, polytetrahydrofuran ether polyol.