Gas chromatographic analysis of ethyleneglycol mono-n-butyl ether in the reaction mixture between ethylene oxide and n-butanol

Abstract

Chemical analysis of ethyleneglycol mono-n-butyl ether synthesized from ethylene oxide and n-butanol is a matter of considerable difficulty, but it is conveniently done by a gas chromatographic procedure. Two kinds of separating column are used in the recommended procedure. The one is a silicone oil DC-703 column at 130°C for high boiling fractions in the reaction product, and the other is a silicone oil DC-703-tetraethyleneglycol dimethyl ether column at 30°C for low boiling fractions.
The presence of diethyleneglycol mono-n-butyl ether and triethyleneglycol mono-n-butyl ether as by-products and of various glycols derived from impurities in the raw materials has been confirmed by their elution patterns and their infrared absorption spectra.