Glyoxal is an organic compound, which is found in liquid form. It is almost colorless or pale yellow in color, and almost odorless. Glyoxal evaporates giving out a green colored gas. Glyoxal is a good crosslinking agent for starch, polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, proteinaceous materials such as gelatin and soy protein, and cellulose such as hydroxyethyl cellulose. Glyoxal is used as a crosslinker in oil and gas, textile, paper, cosmetics, leather, and certain other application areas. It is also used in disinfectants. In special epoxy resins and for imidazole, glyoxal is used as a building block. Glyoxylic acid, made from glyoxal, is used as an intermediate for many applications.