We all know that water freezes at 0°C. So for applications that fall below 0°C, what can we use to prevent water from freezing? That’s right, ethylene glycol! Ethylene glycol is commonly used in fluid temperature control systems where the application must cool below the freezing temperature of water. At a 50/50 mix with water, this lowers the freezing point to about -30°C.
Why is water necessary for ethylene glycol to do its job?
PolyScience Ethylene Glycol
Ethylene glycol by itself starts freezing at -13°C, but when combined with water, it has a hard time “icing”, and the combination of the two pulls the freezing point down significantly. This is why Ethylene glycol is almost never used as an antifreeze by itself, and never in a mixture more than 70% E.G. and 30% water (after 70%, ethylene glycol starts losing this property (think diminishing returns!).
A mixture of Ethylene glycol and water is needed for use with PolyScience units for applications below 20°C. The use of Ethylene glycol and water when the set temperature reaches 20°C is needed because the heat exchanger gets significantly colder (Ice starts to build up in and around the heat exchanger, which is most likely at 0°C when the set temperature is at 20°C).
Author: Chad Nepomuceno, PolyScience
Contact us for more questions on cooling fluids at sales@polyscience.com
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] For more information regarding Ethylene Glycol, and other Chiller fluids, visit our website or our previous blog post. [...]