Knowra Glycerol Glycerol Glycerol is a colorless, odorless, viscous triol with three hydroxyl groups. It forms the backbone of many fats and oils and is used as a solvent, humectant, and chemical feedstock.
Triol : An alcohol molecule containing three hydroxyl groups. Glycerol is the simplest familiar example of this structural class.
Esterification : A reaction that forms an ester from an acid and an alcohol, often releasing water. Its hydroxyl groups form ester bonds with fatty acids in fats and oils.
Humectant : A substance that attracts and retains moisture. Glycerol’s water affinity makes it a widely used humectant in products.
Carl Wilhelm Scheele : A Swedish Pomeranian chemist known for discoveries across chemistry and pharmacy. Scheele isolated glycerol in 1779 while studying the products of heating fats with lead oxide.
Food additive : A substance added to food to serve a technological or sensory function. Glycerol is used in foods to retain moisture, add sweetness, and influence texture.
Hydroxyl group : An oxygen–hydrogen functional group attached to a carbon atom in alcohols. Three hydroxyl groups give glycerol its strong interactions with water.
Triglyceride : A lipid consisting of glycerol esterified with three fatty acids. This is the principal molecular form in which glycerol occurs in fats and oils.
Nitroglycerin : An energetic nitrate ester of glycerol used in explosives and, in small doses, as a medicine for angina. Nitrating glycerol produces this compound, whose uses contrast sharply with glycerol’s mild everyday roles.
Saponification : The alkaline hydrolysis of fats or oils into soap and glycerol. Traditional soapmaking has long produced glycerol from triglycerides.
Pharmaceutical excipient : An ingredient in a medicine that supports its manufacture, stability, delivery, or acceptability. Glycerol serves as a solvent, sweetener, and moisture-retaining ingredient in medicines.
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