Evonik, Dow join to develop propylene glycol from hydrogen peroxide, propylene

Evonik Industries and Dow are joining forces to develop what they say is a better way of making propylene glycol: starting with propylene and hydrogen peroxide.

Propylene glycol is a major industrial chemical produced to the tune of 1.9 million metric tons last year. It’s used to make polyester resins and aircraft deicing fluids. It also has applications in home and personal care products.

Currently, most propylene glycol is made by reacting propylene oxide with water. Propylene oxide, in turn, is made via one of three processes that use propylene, according to the market research firm IHS Markit. In the newest of the three routes, propylene oxide is obtained by reacting propylene and H₂O₂.

Evonik says 100 of its researchers have spent the past few years developing a “novel catalytic system” that similarly gets propylene glycol from propylene and H₂O₂. The firm, one of the world’s largest H₂O₂ producers, claims the process saves energy and can be retrofitted on existing propylene glycol plants. Dow says it expects the technology to be more competitive and offer an improved environmental profile.

Dow calls itself the world’s largest producer of propylene glycol, with five facilities on four continents. It’s also a major producer of propylene oxide via the chlorohydrin and H₂O₂ processes. When Dow practices the latter technology, its partner for H₂O₂ production is Solvay, an Evonik competitor.

Evonik says that it will build a propylene glycol pilot plant in Hanau, Germany, by the end of ₂0₂0 and that large-scale implementation will follow “a few years later.”