Every few months a customer sends us the same message: "Your competitor quoted DEG at a number that makes no sense. Which one of you is wrong?" In 2026 that question has come up more often than usual, because the glycol market moved violently in the spring and is now unwinding just as fast.
This guide is written for procurement managers and formulators who buy polyethylene glycol (PEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) as working raw materials, not as financial instruments. It covers what the two products actually are, which specification lines on a certificate of analysis deserve your attention, how they are packed and shipped, and — the part everyone skips — what they cost in China right now, with the feedstock logic behind those numbers.
PEG and DEG are both ethylene oxide derivatives. Grade selection, not price alone, determines whether a batch works in your process.
Two Products, One Feedstock
Both materials start at ethylene oxide (EO). When EO is hydrated, the main product is monoethylene glycol (MEG); DEG is the co-product formed when two EO units add to one water molecule. The yield is not a dial the operator can set precisely — it moves with the EO-to-water ratio in the reactor, typically landing in the low-to-mid single digits as a share of output. That matters commercially: DEG supply is essentially a consequence of MEG demand, which is why polyester and PET cycles set the tone for DEG availability.
PEG sits one step further down. It is made by ring-opening polymerisation of EO onto water or a glycol starter, usually with an alkaline catalyst, and the average molecular weight is controlled by the ratio of starter to monomer. Same feedstock, different reactor train, different market.
The practical consequence for a buyer: when EO prices move, both products move, but not by the same amount or at the same speed. DEG tracks the MEG complex almost daily. PEG moves more slowly because a large share of it is sold on monthly or quarterly contract terms into pharmaceutical, cosmetic and construction-chemical channels.
DEG (CAS 111-46-6): What You Are Actually Buying
Diethylene glycol is a colourless, odourless, hygroscopic viscous liquid with a faint sweet taste. It mixes freely with water, ethanol, acetone and ethylene glycol, but not with non-polar hydrocarbons — which is exactly why it works as an extraction solvent and a gas dehydration agent.
Property | Typical value | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
CAS number | 111-46-6 | Must match on CoA, SDS and customs declaration |
Molecular formula / weight | C4H10O3 / 106.12 | Stoichiometry for UPR and esterification batches |
Assay (polyester grade) | ≥ 99.6% by weight, 99.9% on premium lots | Below this, gel time and resin viscosity drift |
Ethylene glycol (MEG) | ≤ 0.10% | Excess MEG changes reactivity and volatility |
Triethylene glycol (TEG) | ≤ 0.10% | Excess TEG softens the cured network |
Water | ≤ 0.10% (typical) | Hygroscopic — rises if drums are left open |
Boiling point | 245 °C at 101.3 kPa | High boiler; slow to strip out of a formulation |
Flash point (closed cup) | 143 °C | Above 60 °C, so not an IMDG flammable liquid |
Density | 1.118 g/mL at 25 °C | Converts litres to tonnes for tank and drum loading |
Colour (APHA) | ≤ 10 typical for premium lots | Off-colour lots signal oxidation or contamination |
Where DEG goes
The single largest industrial use is unsaturated polyester resin (UPR), where DEG replaces part of the glycol charge to improve flexibility and reduce brittleness in the cured part. UPR producers buy it alongside styrene, maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, MEG and propylene glycol, so DEG pricing gets discussed in the same breath as the whole resin cost stack.
Beyond UPR, the recurring applications we ship into are:
Gas dehydration and aromatics extraction — the classic solvent duty, where hygroscopicity is the feature rather than the flaw.
Plasticisers and ester intermediates — DEG-based esters for PVC and for lubricant viscosity modifiers.
Textile processing — lubricant, softener and sizing component for yarn and fabric finishing.
Inks, adhesives and coatings — a high-boiling solvent for nitrocellulose, alkyd and polyurethane systems, and a humectant in water-based inks.
Polyurethane foam — as a chain extender and polyol blend component.
One note that belongs in a product article because it changes how you specify: DEG is listed as a prohibited ingredient under China's cosmetic safety technical rules, and it is not permitted in pharmaceutical or food formulations in most jurisdictions. Industrial and polyester grade DEG must never be substituted into a personal-care or ingestible product. We cover the compliance side in more depth in our quality and safety article.
DEG moves most often in 230 kg drums or 1,000 kg IBCs. Drum count per container drives your unit freight cost more than the freight rate does.
PEG (CAS 25322-68-3): Choosing by Molecular Weight
PEG is not one product. It is a family whose physical form changes with average molecular weight, and picking the wrong grade is the most common sourcing error we see. Roughly: below 600 you are handling a liquid, between 600 and 1,000 a soft semi-solid or paste, and above that a wax-like solid supplied as flakes, pastilles or powder.
Grade | Form at 20 °C | Typical melting range | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
PEG 200 / 300 | Clear viscous liquid | −15 to 8 °C (PEG 300) | Solvent, humectant, heat-transfer fluid, ink and dye carrier |
PEG 400 | Clear viscous liquid | 4 to 10 °C | Pharmaceutical excipient, cosmetic humectant, lubricant base |
PEG 600 | Liquid to soft paste | 20 to 25 °C | Cosmetic emollient, textile lubricant, mild solvent |
PEG 1000 / 1500 | Waxy solid | 37 to 40 °C | Candle and polish blends, mould release, rubber processing aid |
PEG 4000 | Waxy solid | 53 to 56 °C | Pharma tablet binder and laxative base, ceramic binder |
PEG 6000 / 8000 | Flakes, pastilles or powder | 56 to 63 °C | Concrete admixture, metalworking quenchant, tablet coating |
PEG 10000 / 20000 | Hard wax solid | 60 to 67 °C | Specialty lubricants, phase-change materials, research use |
Industrial, food and pharmaceutical grades are not interchangeable
The chemistry is identical; the documentation and impurity limits are not. Pharmaceutical-grade PEG is monographed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2025 edition, Volume IV, covering grades 400, 600, 4000 and 6000) and in the USP and European Pharmacopoeia. Food-grade product follows GB 1886.302-2021. Industrial grade follows the supplier's technical specification.
If your end product is ingestible, injectable or applied to skin, you need the pharmacopoeial grade with the matching CoA, residual EO and dioxane limits, and a supplier willing to be audited. Buying industrial grade and re-labelling it is not a shortcut — it is a recall.
The construction-chemical angle worth knowing
A large and growing share of PEG and its copolymers goes into polycarboxylate ether (PCE) superplasticisers for concrete. The macromonomers — HPEG, TPEG, MPEG and APEG — are EO derivatives, and East China dominates that capacity precisely because the EO chain is concentrated there. Global PCE superplasticiser demand was around USD 7.29 billion in 2025 and is forecast near USD 7.85 billion in 2026, with Asia-Pacific accounting for roughly four-fifths of the market. New Chinese standards GB/T 8076-2025 and GB 46039-2025 came into effect during 2026, tightening residual formaldehyde and ammonia-release limits, which pushes admixture producers toward cleaner EO-based monomers.
What These Two Products Cost in China Right Now
Prices below are the levels we were seeing in the second week of October 2026, drawn from published Chinese market assessments. They are reference points for budgeting, not quotations — your actual price depends on grade, quantity, packaging, port and payment terms.
DEG: a 164% spike, then a fast unwind
The Sunsirs benchmark for DEG stood at CNY 6,333.33 per tonne on 14 October 2026, down 5.36% from the start of the month at CNY 6,691.67. Set that against the trailing twelve months: a low of CNY 3,153.33, a high of CNY 11,866.67, a median of CNY 7,510 and an average of CNY 6,172.31. In other words, the current level sits slightly below the one-year average after a year of extraordinary volatility.
Date (2026) | DEG benchmark, CNY/t | What was driving it |
|---|---|---|
Early January | ~3,060 (year low) | Ample imports, weak UPR and polyester demand |
17 July | 9,086 | Middle East unit outages, import cargoes delayed |
Mid-July peak | 9,233 (intraday high; benchmark series topped 11,866) | East China port inventory down to roughly 4,300 t |
26 August | 11,000 (basket high) | EO turnarounds, ethylene cost push, tight spot supply |
15 September | 9,720 | Downstream resisting; buying turns hand-to-mouth |
25 September | 7,400 | Import cargoes arriving, sentiment flips |
5 October | 6,543 | Domestic producers cutting ex-works offers |
14 October | 6,333 | Heavy inbound vessel schedule into Zhangjiagang |
The first-half comparison is the cleanest way to size the move: H1 2026 averaged CNY 5,621 per tonne against CNY 4,620 in H1 2025, an increase of about 21.7%. From the January low to the July high the gain was roughly 164%, the highest level in close to a decade.
As of 15 October the published trend assessment was an oscillating market with a mild pullback — slightly bearish in character. Sinopec East China, Zhongke Refining and Fujian Gulei had cut ex-works offers in successive rounds, and the inbound vessel schedule into Zhangjiagang pointed to a rapid inventory rebuild. Against that, physical stocks were still thin: the two main Zhangjiagang tank farms (Changjiang International and Vopak) held about 8,700 tonnes of DEG on 12 October, with 1,148 tonnes dispatched that day. Thin physical stock plus a bearish price signal is a market where prompt cargoes clear quickly but forward offers soften.
Trader quotes on 14 October spanned a wide band, which is normal in this market: imported Saudi-origin material at CNY 6,000–9,000 per tonne, domestic material at CNY 5,300–9,000, polyester-grade 99.9% in Shanghai at CNY 7,400, and drummed Yangzi Petrochemical polyester grade at CNY 10,900. When you see a spread that wide, the difference is almost always packaging, lot age, colour and whether the seller holds stock or is back-to-back.
PEG: high-molecular-weight grades carry a premium
PEG quotes on 13–14 October 2026, again from published Chinese market assessments:
Grade | Observed range, CNY/t | Notes |
|---|---|---|
PEG 200 | 6,900 – 9,700 | Saudi-origin and domestic both quoted |
PEG 400 | 6,800 – 10,600 | Widest spread; pharma-grade sits at the top |
PEG 600 | ~7,200 | Liquid, drummed |
PEG 800 | ~7,700 | 200 kg drum |
PEG 2000 – 10000 | 7,900 – 11,000 | Flake cheaper than powder at the same MW |
PEG 6000 flake / powder | 7,200 / 8,200 | ~CNY 1,000/t form premium |
PEG 8000 flake / powder | 8,200 / 9,200 | Powder commands the premium |
PEG 10000 | 9,400 – 10,500 | 25 kg bag, national-standard product |
Two things stand out. First, the flake-versus-powder premium of roughly CNY 1,000 per tonne at the same molecular weight — powder is more expensive to produce and to handle, and it is what most tablet-coating and dry-blend customers need. Second, the direction of travel: the national mainstream average tracked by Oilchem moved from CNY 9,550 per tonne on 10 September to CNY 10,150 on 11 September and CNY 10,650 by 18 September, a two-step climb of more than 11% in eight days. That was the EO cost pass-through arriving. By mid-October the market had settled back, with a 30-day range of roughly CNY 7,500 to CNY 11,200.
On the global side, the PEG market was estimated at about USD 15.8 billion in 2024, growing around 7.3% year on year, with Asia-Pacific taking more than 42% of consumption. Pharmaceutical applications account for close to half of demand and cosmetics and personal care for roughly a quarter — which explains why PEG pricing is far less volatile than DEG despite sharing the same feedstock.
The feedstock behind both numbers: ethylene oxide
You cannot read a glycol price without reading EO. On 13 October 2026, published regional ex-works offers were CNY 9,200–9,700 per tonne in East China, CNY 9,600–9,700 in South China, CNY 9,500 in North China and CNY 10,100 in Central China, with Satellite Chemical listing CNY 9,800. MEG — the sibling product that sets DEG's supply — was quoted at CNY 5,550 per tonne by Satellite Chemical on the same day, down CNY 200, while a coal-route polyester-grade auction in Shanxi started at CNY 5,680, down CNY 120.
The gap between EO near CNY 10,000 and MEG near CNY 5,600 tells you where the margin pressure sits: EO derivatives such as PEG and the PCE macromonomers carry the cost, while the glycol itself is being sold close to or below cash cost on several routes. Published industry analysis put integrated naphtha-route MEG cash cost in China at CNY 5,200–5,500 per tonne, implying a loss of CNY 240–330 per tonne at October prices, with Middle East producers losing more than USD 40 per tonne on FOB terms.
The one-line read: DEG is a by-product chasing the MEG cycle and is currently correcting downward from a July spike; PEG is a differentiated derivative chasing EO cost and end-use specification, and holds its price far better. Budget them separately.
Packaging and Loading: Drums, IBC or ISO Tank
Option | Typical net weight | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
230 kg steel or HDPE drum | ~20.0 t per 20 ft container (87 drums) | Trial orders, multi-grade buyers, drum-fed plants | Highest unit freight; drum reconditioning cost at destination |
1,000 kg IBC | ~18–20 t per 20 ft container | Regular production users with forklift handling | Not always accepted for food or pharma grade |
ISO tank (T11 / lined) | ~24–26 t of DEG per 24,000 L tank | Bulk liquid consumers, lowest unit cost | Prior-cargo restrictions, cleaning certificate, tank repositioning |
25 kg bag (PEG solids) | ~20–22 t per 20 ft container | Flake, pastille and powder grades | Moisture ingress; powder grades need dust control |
For DEG at a density of 1.118 g/mL, a 24,000 litre ISO tank carries roughly 26.8 tonnes — about a third more payload per box than drums. On a long-haul lane where the freight rate is the same per container, that difference alone can move your delivered cost by USD 60–90 per tonne. It is the first thing we check when a customer says our drum price looks high.
Storage Notes That Save You Money
Keep DEG sealed. It is hygroscopic. An opened drum in a humid warehouse will pick up water within days, and water is the specification line that triggers a claim.
Store below 30 °C, out of direct sun. Heat and oxygen drive colour. A lot that ships at APHA 8 can arrive at APHA 30 if it sits on a hot quayside for a month.
Segregate from oxidisers and strong acids. Standard practice, and stated on the SDS.
PEG solids: keep dry and cool. Grades at or above 4000 will sinter and cake in a hot container. Bags that arrive fused together are still usable but slow down dosing.
Rotate stock. For glycols we recommend consuming within twelve months of production and re-testing colour and water content on anything older.
Five Questions to Ask Any Glycol Supplier
Can you send a batch-specific CoA before shipment, not a generic specification sheet?
What are your actual limits for MEG, TEG and water — and what was the last lot's result?
Which plant produced it, and is the origin consistent across repeat orders?
Will you accept a third-party pre-shipment inspection by SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek?
How long is your price valid? In this market, anything beyond two weeks needs an index or surcharge clause.
If a supplier hesitates on the third and fourth questions, that tells you more than any price comparison.
Working With JBSR
We supply PEG across the 200 to 20,000 molecular-weight range and DEG at 99.9% polyester and industrial grade, in drums, IBCs, bags and ISO tanks, from Chinese and imported origins. Every shipment goes out with a batch CoA and a GHS-format safety data sheet, and we arrange third-party inspection on request.
You can review the full range on our products page, read how we handle documentation and logistics on the export services page, or send us your specification and we will come back with a firm offer and a validity window you can plan around.
Price information in this article reflects published Chinese market assessments for mid-October 2026 and is provided for reference only. It is not an offer, a quotation or investment advice. Confirm current levels with our sales team before making a purchasing decision.