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Most automotive engines are water"-cooled to remove waste heat, although the water is actually antifreeze/water mixture and not plain water. The term
engine coolant is widely used in the automotive industry, which covers its primary function of convective
heat transfer for internal combustion engines. When
used in an automotive context, corrosion inhibitors are
added to help protect vehicles radiators, which often
contain a range of electrochemically incompatible metals (aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass, solder, et cetera).
Water pump seal lubricant is also added.
3 PRIMARY AGENTS
Ethylene glycol
Other uses
Ethylene glycol has desirable thermal properties, including a high boiling point, low freezing point, stability over
a wide range of temperatures, and high specic heat
and thermal conductivity. It also has a low viscosity
and, therefore reduced pumping requirements. Although
EGW has more desirable physical properties than PGW,
the latter coolant is used in applications where toxicity
might be a concern. PGW is generally recognized as safe 3.2.1 Poisoning
for use in food or food processing applications, and can
Main article: Ethylene glycol poisoning
also be used in enclosed spaces.
Similar mixtures are commonly used in HVAC and industrial heating or cooling systems as a high-capacity heat
transfer medium. Many formulations have corrosion inhibitors, and it is expected that these chemicals will be replenished (manually or under automatic control) to keep
expensive piping and equipment from corroding.
3.4
Glycerol
body, and causes symptomsincluding intoxication, severe diarrhea, and vomitingthat can be confused with
other illnesses or diseases.[4][8] Its metabolism produces
calcium oxalate, which crystallizes in the brain, heart,
lungs, and kidneys, damaging them; depending on the
level of exposure, accumulation of the poison in the body
can last weeks or months before causing death, but death
by acute kidney failure can result within 72 hours if the
individual does not receive appropriate medical treatment
for the poisoning.[4] Some ethylene glycol antifreeze mixtures contain an embittering agent, such as denatonium,
to discourage accidental or deliberate consumption.
3.3
Propylene glycol
Propylene glycol
3.4 Glycerol
Once used for automotive antifreeze, glycerol has the
advantage of being non-toxic, withstands relatively high
temperatures, and is noncorrosive.
Like ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, glycerol is
a non-ionic kosmotrope that forms strong hydrogen
bonds with water molecules, competing with water-water
hydrogen bonds. This disrupts the crystal lattice formation of ice unless the temperature is signicantly lowered. The minimum freezing point temperature is at
about 36 F / 37.8 C corresponding to 6070% glycerol in water.[12]
Glycerol was historically used as an antifreeze 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.[13][14] Glycerol is mandated for use as an antifreeze in many sprinkler systems.
In the laboratory, glycerol is a common component of solvents for enzymatic reagents stored at temperatures below
0 C due to the depression of the freezing temperature
of solutions with high concentrations of glycerol. It is
also used as a cryoprotectant where the glycerol is dissolved in water to reduce damage by ice crystals to laboratory organisms that are stored in frozen solutions, such
as bacteria, nematodes, and mammalian embryos.
Once antifreeze has been mixed with water and put into
use, it periodically needs to be maintained. If engine
coolant leaks, boils, or if the cooling system needs to be
drained and relled, the antifreezes freeze protection will
need to be considered. In other cases a vehicle may need
to be operated in a colder environment, requiring more
Propylene glycol oxidizes when exposed to air and heat, antifreeze and less water. Three methods are commonly
[15]
forming lactic acid.[9][10] If not properly inhibited, this employed to determine the freeze point of the solution:
uid can be very corrosive, so pH buering agents such
1. Specic gravity(using a hydrometer or some sort
as dipotassium phosphate, Protodin and potassium biof oating indicator),
carbonate are often added to propylene glycol, to prevent acidic corrosion of metal components. Pre-inhibited
2. Refractometerwhich measures the refractive inpropylene glycol solutions like Dowfrost (manufactured
dex of the antifreeze solution and translates it into
by Dow Chemicals, US) and Tonofrost (manufactured by
freeze point, and
Chemtex Speciality Ltd, India) can also be used instead
of pure propylene glycol to prevent corrosion.
3. Test stripsspecialized, disposable indicators made
for this purpose.
Besides cooling system corrosion, biological fouling also
occurs. Once bacterial slime starts to grow, the corrosion
rate of the system increases. Maintenance of systems us- Although ethylene glycol hydrometers are widely availing glycol solution includes regular monitoring of freeze able and mass-marketed for antifreeze testing, they give
protection, pH, specic gravity, inhibitor level, color, and false readings at high temperatures because specic gravbiological contamination. Propylene glycol should be re- ity changes with temperature.[15] Propylene glycol solutions cannot be tested using specic gravity because of
placed when it turns a reddish color.[11]
ADDITIVES
ambiguous results (40% and 100% solutions have the Potassium 2-ethylhexanoate and ethylhexanoic acid is insame specic gravity).[15]
compatible with nylon 6,6 and silicone rubber, and is a
known plasticizer. Class action lawsuits were registered
in several states, and in Canada,[21] to address some of
these claims. The rst of these to reach a decision was
5 Corrosion inhibitors
in Missouri where a settlement was announced early in
December 2007.[22] Late in March 2008, GM agreed to
Most commercial antifreeze formulations include compensate complainants in the remaining 49 states.[23]
corrosion inhibiting compounds, and a colored dye GM (Motors Liquidation Company) led for bankruptcy
(commonly a green, red, orange, yellow, or blue in 2009, which tied up the outstanding claims until a court
uorescent) to aid in identication.[16] A 1:1 dilution determines who gets paid.[24]
with water is usually used, resulting in a freezing point of
about 34 F (37 C), depending on the formulation. In According to the DEX-COOL manufacturer, mixing a
warmer or colder areas, weaker or stronger dilutions are 'green' [non-OAT] coolant with DEX-COOL reduces the
but
used, respectively, but a range of 40%/60% to 60%/40% batchs change interval to 2 years or 30,000 miles,
[25]
will
otherwise
cause
no
damage
to
the
engine.
DEXis frequently specied to ensure corrosion protection,
and 70%/30% for maximum freeze prevention down to COOL antifreeze uses two inhibitors: sebacate and 2EHA (2-ethylhexanoic acid), the latter which works well
84 F (64 C).[2]
with the hard water found in the US, but is a plasticizer
which can cause gaskets to leak.[17]
5.1
Maintenance
According to internal GM documents, the ultimate culprit appears to be operating vehicles for long periods of
time with low coolant levels. The low coolant is caused by
pressure caps that fail in the open position. (The new caps
and recovery bottles were introduced at the same time as
DEX-COOL). This exposes hot engine components to air
and vapors, causing corrosion and contamination of the
coolant with iron oxide particles, which in turn can aggravate the pressure cap problem as contamination holds
the caps open permanently.[26]
In the absence of leaks, antifreeze chemicals such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol may retain their basic
properties indenitely. By contrast, corrosion inhibitors
are gradually used up, and must be replenished from time
to time. Larger systems (such as HVAC systems) are often monitored by specialist rms which take responsibility for adding corrosion inhibitors and regulating coolant
composition. For simplicity, most automotive manufacturers recommend periodic complete replacement of en- Honda and Toyotas new extended life coolant use OAT
gine coolant, to simultaneously renew corrosion inhibitors with sebacate but without the 2-EHA. Some added phosand remove accumulated contaminants.
phates provide protection while the OAT builds up.[17]
Honda specically excludes 2-EHA from their formulas.
5.2
Traditional inhibitors
Typically OAT antifreeze contains an orange dye to differentiate it from the conventional glycol-based coolants
(green or yellow). Some of the newer OAT coolants claim
to be compatible with all types of OAT and glycol-based
coolants; these are typically green or yellow in color (for
a table of colors, see[16] ).
5.3
5
are proprietary, the safety data sheets (SDS) provided [8]
by the manufacturer list only those compounds which
are considered to be signicant safety hazards when
used in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. Common additives include sodium silicate,
disodium phosphate, sodium molybdate, sodium borate,
and dextrin (hydroxyethyl starch). Disodium uorescein [9]
dyes are added to antifreeze to help trace the source of
leaks, and as an identier since some dierent formula[10]
tions are incompatible.[16]
See also
Air cooling
Cryoprotectant
Heater core
Ice melt
Internal combustion engine cooling
Radiator
Water cooling
References
Notes
[1] Prestone Press Release
[2] Peak Antifreeze chart
[3]
[4] Brent J (2001).
Current management of ethylene glycol poisoning.
Drugs 61 (7): 97988.
doi:10.2165/00003495-200161070-00006. ISSN 00126667. PMID 11434452.
[5] Antifreeze Warning. The Cat Fanciers Association,
Inc. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
[6] Nash, Alanna. The Black Widow Killer: Two men. Two
murders. Too many questions.. Readers Digest. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
REFERENCES
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