In some areas the cold period can last for up to eight months. Sub-zero temperatures are recorded even in October. This fact makes a small antifreeze production business quite promising.
Why do we need non-freezing liquids?
One important area of antifreeze liquid us is cleaning of car windscreens (windscreen cleaners). Another is cooling of the engine.
In the cases described above, antifreeze liquids have different functions, and their composition is also different.
Water is not suitable for cooling car engines, because it is subject to freezing at sub-zero temperatures. Subsequent heating of ice in the system leads to expansion and damage of engine parts. Antifreeze is a different story. Even in the bitter cold, it has a consistency that is absolutely not harmful for engine system components. Usually it looks like fine crumbs or slurry. Antifreeze is poured into a radiator and an expansion tank.
A clean car windscreen is not a luxury in the cold season, but rather a way of ensuring road safety. After all, ice crust substantially worsens the view and it is virtually impossible for a driver to objectively assess the current situation on the road in such circumstances. Shampoos or other detergents are often added to antifreeze in order to keep windscreens clean.
What is non-freezing liquid made of?
Antifreeze and windscreen washer fluids are made on the basis of alcohol, glycol and glycerin.
Shady manufacturers of antifreeze often use methyl alcohol. It is relatively cheap and allows a good profit margin. But the whole problem is that this substance is rather toxic and can affect a human body not only after ingestion, but also after inhalation of high concentrations of its vapors.
Isopropyl alcohol is not as volatile and it forms a film on the glass which stays longer. However, it has specific pungent odor that can even break through the odor of fragrances added to antifreeze.
Glycols have the ability to increase freezing resistance of the product in which they are used as an additive. Such substances (e.g., ethylene glycol) can ensure a liquid state even when the temperatures drops to – 60°C.
Given the above, as well as taking in account the experience of entrepreneurs engaged in the production of antifreeze, we can name the most commonly used components. These include: isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, flavoring agents (to remove unpleasant odors), water, surfactants (to remove contaminants from the surface of the glass) and dyes.
Water must be absolutely pure, without any sediment. There is no stringent standard for antifreeze color, but it is better to give it a light blue hue. Also you will need plastic containers or bottles for bottling and labels.
What about the technology?
Production of antifreeze or other non-freezing liquid does not require any deep knowledge in chemistry. The overall antifreeze production technology can be formulated as the following sequence of operations:
- water purification;
- mixing of the components;
- heating of the mixture;
- filling the product in plastic containers;
- labeling;
- transportation.
This technology is the same both for the production of windshield washer fluid and antifreeze. The only difference is the composition of additives.
Antifreeze production line structure
You need the following equipment for the production of non-freezing liquids:
- Reactor for heating and cooling of the mixture;
- USB-type plant, providing high-quality blending of the components for antifreeze liquid;
- Storage tank for automobile liquids;
- Compressor or pump;
- Equipment for bottling;
- Capping machine;
- Labeling device;
- Piping system.
Certainly each type of equipment is important, but particular attention should be paid to the USB-type plant manufactured by GlobeCore. It ensures high-quality mixing of two to five initial components. The advantages of this equipment include: precise control of dosage of each component, significant reduction of mixing cycle duration and no need to use mixing tanks for homogenization of the final product. During the process of mixing in an in-line mixer, the flow rate of each component is continuously adjusted in order to obtain the finished product with stable quality according to the predetermined recipe. The resulting non-freezing fluid does not break into individual components and has a long shelf life.
Theoretical payback period is calculated according to the specific conditions of your future production. It could be three months, six months or a year. This time interval can be reduced due to versatility of this equipment. The same line allows the production of three types of liquids: antifreeze, windscreen washer liquid and shampoo. The wider the range, the better the sales of the finished products.
Final cost of the antifreeze production line depends on the degree of its automation and production capacity.