Butyl Glycol

Butyl Glycol or 2-Butoxyethanol is a colorless liquid organic compound. It has a sweet, ether-like odor, as it derives from the family of glycol ethers, and is butyl ether of ethylene glycol. As a relatively nonvolatile, inexpensive solvent of low toxicity, it is used in many domestic and industrial products because of its properties as a surfactant.

2-Butoxyethanol is a solvent for paints and surface coatings, as well as cleaning products and inks. Products that contain 2-butoxyethanol include acrylic resin formulations, asphalt release agents, firefighting foam, leather protectors, oil spill dispersants, degreaser applications, photographic strip solutions, whiteboard cleaners, liquid soaps, cosmetics, dry cleaning solutions, lacquers, varnishes, herbicides, latex paints, enamels, printing paste, and varnish removers, and silicone caulk.

Products containing this compound are commonly found at construction sites, automobile repair shops, print shops, and facilities that produce sterilizing and cleaning products. It is the main ingredient of many home, commercial and industrial cleaning solutions. Since the molecule has both non-polar and polar ends, butoxyethanol is useful for removing both polar and non-polar substances, like grease and oils.

In the petroleum industry, 2-butoxyethanol is a component of fracturing fluids, drilling stabilizers, and oil slick dispersants for both water-based and oil-based hydraulic fracturing. When liquid is pumped into the well, the fracturing fluids are pumped under extreme pressure, so 2-butoxyethanol is used to stabilize them by lowering the surface tension. The compound is also used to facilitate the release of the gas by preventing congealing. It is also used as a crude oil-water coupling solvent for more general oil well walkovers.

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