Antifreeze is an essential automobile product
Antifreeze is an adjective that describes what makes freezing impossible : that is, it does not allow a liquid to freeze (solidify). The concept is used as a noun to refer to the substance that is used in an engine with the aim of increasing its boiling point and reducing its freezing point .
Reduces freezing point
Before moving forward, it is important to focus on the ideas of boiling point and freezing point . The boiling point is the temperature at which a liquid turns into a vapor, while the freezing point is the temperature at which a liquid turns into a solid.
Returning to the notion of antifreeze, it is a compound that is incorporated into a liquid with the primary purpose of lowering its freezing point . In engines, antifreeze is generally added to water : in this way, even when very low temperatures are recorded, freezing does not occur.
Antifreeze also usually has the ability to increase the boiling point. So, when it's very hot , the system continues to operate efficiently.
Protect containers
By preventing the liquid from freezing, antifreeze protects rigid containers by preventing the expansion of the contents caused by freezing . Many times antifreeze also includes anticorrosive components.
Decades ago, the most common antifreeze used in automobiles was methanol . However, as methanol tends to evaporate, ethylene glycols later began to be used.
Methanol
The popularity of methanol occurred mainly in the second half of the 1930s. Although it effectively prevented the refrigerant from freezing, its use for other things was not advisable.
Two of its advantages are its thermal capacity (the ratio between its temperature change and the magnitude of heat it transfers) and its melting point . As a negative trait, however, is its propensity for evaporation , which leads it to experience this change of state in less time than the water with which it was mixed.
Ethylene glycol
In 1937, solutions of this chemical compound appeared on the market, which were sold under the name of permanent antifreeze because its benefits could be perceived throughout the year, both in cold and hot seasons.
We must talk about the dangers of contact between humans and animals with this product, since it is poisonous and its sweet aroma can confuse the little ones. If ingested, this antifreeze generates crystals in the kidneys and can cause death from severe kidney failure . For this reason, it is important to clean up spills or ensure that no individual who may put themselves at risk approaches them.
Propylene glycol
This antifreeze is much less toxic than ethylene glycol, to the point that some consider it non-toxic . Its use takes place above all in situations for which the previous one is not suitable, such as the gastronomic industry and household plumbing.
In the food industry, it is sometimes used as a binder
Propylene glycol also acts as a binding agent, and is used in the manufacture of cosmetics, medicine and food products. The Food and Drug Administration , a US government agency that regulates these and other markets to ensure consumer safety, endorses this antifreeze in most of its applications.
In other industries
It should be noted that, beyond engines, antifreeze can be used in the cooling systems of various machines and even in certain processed foods such as ice cream and soft drinks .