Question

What are the main industries and processes where polyethylene glycol PEG-300 is applied?

Answer
2026-05-27 官方文档 聚乙二醇PEG-300

Polyethylene glycol PEG-300, with its excellent solubility, lubricity, and biocompatibility, is widely used in five core fields including pharmaceuticals, daily chemicals, industry, rubber, and agriculture, serving as a matrix carrier, moisturizing lubricant, plasticizing solvent, and pesticide synergist among other multifunctional additives.

Detailed Description

Polyethylene glycol PEG-300 (CAS: 25322-68-3) is a nonionic surfactant, appearing as a colorless to slightly yellow transparent viscous liquid. Its core advantages lie in its excellent emulsifying, wetting, dispersing, and solubilizing capabilities, along with outstanding chemical stability, resistance to acid, alkali, and hard water environments, and low volatility, ensuring long-lasting lubrication and moisturizing performance. These characteristics make it irreplaceable in multiple industries and processes.

In the pharmaceutical industry, PEG-300 is one of the most important application areas. It can be used as a water-soluble ointment base, suppository base, dropping pill carrier, injection solvent, as well as tablet coating material and lubricant. Thanks to its good biocompatibility and low toxicity, PEG-300 in pharmaceutical processes not only improves formulation uniformity but also ensures the safety and stability of drugs. In the daily chemical field, PEG-300 is widely used as an efficient moisturizer and lubricant in personal care products such as skincare products, shampoos, and toothpaste, significantly enhancing the product's moisturizing feel and user experience, and it is also an important synthetic intermediate for surfactants.

In the industrial and agricultural fields, PEG-300 also performs excellently. In papermaking and textile processing, it provides lubrication and antistatic treatment; in coatings and inks, it acts as a solvent and plasticizer to improve product leveling and stability; in rubber products, it serves as an effective component of mold release agents and a dispersion medium for vulcanization accelerators, enhancing processing efficiency and finished product surface quality. In agriculture, PEG-300 is used as an pesticide emulsifier and spreading agent, capable of enhancing the wetting and spreading ability of the spray liquid on plant surfaces, thereby improving the application effectiveness of pesticides.

Application Fields and Technical Parameters

Application Industry Specific Process/Use Core Function
Pharmaceutical Industry Ointment base, suppository base, dropping pill carrier, injection solvent, tablet coating and lubricant Solubilization carrier, lubrication, biocompatibility
Daily Chemical Industry Skincare products, shampoos, toothpaste and other personal care products; surfactant intermediate synthesis Moisturizing, lubrication, enhancement of moisturizing feel
Industrial Field Lubrication and antistatic treatment in papermaking and textile processing; solvent and plasticizer for coatings and inks Lubrication, antistatic, leveling improvement
Rubber Products Effective component of mold release agents, dispersion medium for vulcanization accelerators Mold release, dispersion, processing enhancement
Agriculture Pesticide emulsifier, spreading agent Wetting and spreading, efficacy enhancement

Application Recommendations

For different application scenarios, the following selection and usage are recommended: In pharmaceutical preparations, the operating temperature of PEG-300 should be controlled within a safe range below 170°C to avoid thermal decomposition; in daily chemical formulations, its hygroscopicity can be utilized as a moisturizing component, but attention must be paid to sealing promptly after opening to prevent moisture absorption; for industrial lubrication and antistatic treatment, it is recommended to use a closed system for conveying and feeding to maintain product purity; in agricultural applications, as a spreading agent, the appropriate concentration should be adjusted according to the specific pesticide formulation to fully exert the wetting and spreading effect.

Precautions

  • Avoid contact with strong oxidizing agents: PEG-300 should be kept away from peroxides, permanganates, concentrated nitric acid, and other strong oxidizers to prevent hazardous reactions.
  • Keep sealed and prevent moisture: This product is hygroscopic; after opening, it should be resealed as soon as possible. The storage temperature is recommended to be between 5°C and 40°C.
  • General safety protection: It is recommended to wear chemical protective gloves and safety glasses during operation. Although it is non-hazardous, care should still be taken to prevent eye contact which may cause mild irritation.
  • Environmental disposal: In case of leakage, cover and absorb with inert absorbent materials (such as yellow sand, vermiculite) to prevent entry into sewers and surface waters.