Question

What is glycerol?

Answer 1

GLYCEROL

colourless, sweet, viscous liquid formed as a by-product in soap manufacture. It is used as an emollient and laxative, and for making explosives and antifreeze.
Glycerol is seen in biological systems as an intermediate in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism because surplus carbohydrate can be converted into long chain fatty acids and esterified with the three hydroxyl groups. Glycerol can influence immune reactions in the body through histamines, increased antibody production and by enhancing immune cell activity and is therefore classified as an allergen. In the blood, glycerol can increase blood pressure by preferentially attracting the water from tissues into plasma and lymph. In nephrons, glycerol can increase urine volume by preventing water resorption


USES

Glycerol is used in a number of industrial applications, in the pharmaceutical industry, in cosmetics and personal care products, in the production of resins, detergents, plastics and tobacco and as a humectant in food.

Its use as a commercially important chemical began with its application in the production of dynamite. Dynamite was necessary in the discovery and extraction of underground minerals, and in the construction of infrastructure. Therefore, it propelled industrial development