The most important catalyst for the production of polyalkene glycols and high molecular weight polyether polyols is potassium hydroxide. Typically the crude polyols contain 0.2 to 0.4 wt% of potassium hydroxide as catalyst. AMBOSOL selectively adsorbs the alkali from the crude polyol in the presence of a slight amount of water (0.5 – 2 wt% based on the weight of polyol). Subsequently the water is distilled under vacuum and the Ambosol solids are separated from the purified polyol by filtration. Typically the residu alkali level of < 5 ppm for the purified polyol can be achieved by treatment with AMBOSOL.

Polyol Purification