Clear colourless, odorless, syrupy liquid. Combustible and has low toxicity. Extracted from pickel steel, or waste sulfuric acid oxide of titanium. Mainly used for corrosion control of the seawater side of a condenser or for water and sewage treatment.

Glycerol was historically used as an anti-freeze for automotive applications before being replaced by ethylene glycol, which has a lower freezing point. While the minimum freezing point of a glycerol-water mixture is higher than an ethylene glycol-water mixture, glycerol is not toxic and is being re-examined for use in automotive applications