The full name of antifreeze should be called antifreeze coolant, which means it has antifreeze function of coolant. Antifreeze can prevent the coolant from freezing and cracking the radiator and freezing the engine cylinder block or head during cold winter parking.
Antifreeze is mainly divided into ethylene glycol-based antifreeze, glycerin-based antifreeze, and alcohol-based antifreeze. At present, more than 95% of ethylene glycol-based antifreezes are used at home and abroad. In fact, glycerin-water solution is the earliest and most traditional antifreeze. International civil aviation regulations specify the use of glycerin-water solution as a de-icing agent before aircraft takeoff. In terms of cost, glycerol has always been very expensive in the past. Later, people gradually switched to cheaper ethylene glycol instead of glycerin as the main additive of antifreeze.
Glycerin-based antifreeze is better than ethylene glycol-based and alcohol-based antifreeze
In fact, ethylene glycol is more toxic and irritating than glycerin. When adding it, you should pay attention to the fact that ethylene glycol is a non-renewable resource and has the disadvantages of alcohol-based antifreeze. It is easy to catch fire, the boiling point of alcohol is low, and the evaporation loss is large.
Glycerin is a renewable resource and can be naturally degraded. Glycerin has a high boiling point (290°C) and small evaporation loss, making it less likely to cause fire. It has good chemical stability and long service life; it is not corrosive to metals and is an environmentally friendly green product.
The disadvantage of glycerol is that the freezing point reduction efficiency is low. When the glycerin concentration is 76.5%, the freezing point of the antifreeze can only be lowered to -45℃, when preparing the same freezing point antifreeze, the dosage is larger than that of ethylene glycol and alcohol.