Glycerine: an overview

An overview of the terms, technical data, properties and performance of glycerine.

Sterility Testing and Antimicrobial Activity of Commercial Grade Glycerine

Under a grant from the Glycerine Producers` Association a study was undertaken to demonstrate the presence or absence of microbial contamination in 60 samples of commercial grade (95% and 99%) glycerine. Ten samples each from six producers, collected from drums and tank cans, were forwarded for analysis by the sponsor.

The antimicrobial activity of commercial grade glycerine was investigated to determine the concentrations necessary for inhibition (bacteriostatic) and death (bactericidal) of selected bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Eschericaia coli, nad Salmonella typhimurium) as specified in USP standards.

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Physical Properties of Glycerine and its Solutions

The extremely wide range of uses for glycerine is due in large measure not to a single property, but to its unique combination of properties.

Nature made glycerol the most widely distributed of the polyhydric alcohols, as combined in fats and other lipids essential to life processes. Derivatives dependent on its chemical structure have now been extended to virtually every field of research and technology, from explosives to emulsifiers.

Glycerine (sometimes glycerin) is the term most often applied to the commercial product, which usually contains a small percentage of water. Glycerol (chemically 1,2,3-propanetriol) refers to the chemical compound and content in a formulation, specifically to the tryhydric alcohol: C₃H₅(OH)₃.

But over and above it chemical combinations, pure glycerine offers the formulator a liquid with a fortuitous balance of physical properties, bland, viscous, stable, hygroscopic and widely compatible. In the area of products for personal use it is clear, odorless and recognized as safe. It prevents freezing and promotes long shelf life.

This booklet highlights another distinct advantage of glycerine for the developer of new products. All its properties, even those of seemingly esoteric interest, have been spread on the record by over a century of scientific study. If there is a need to know its dielectric constant its coefficient of expansion or the rate of sound transmission through glycerine, a handbook reference may save hours of critical measurement.

The aim in this compilation is to present the more important of the available data on glycerine and its aqueous solutions for ready reference. Other sections dealing with chemical an biological properties are also made available."