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APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADDITION OF ADH ENZYME INHIBITORS TO EXISTING ENGINE COOLING SYSTEMS

20170327721 · 2017-11-16

    Inventors

    Cpc classification

    International classification

    Abstract

    An apparatus and method for the addition of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme inhibitors to existing engine cooling systems to reduce or eliminate the coolant toxicity without the need to completely drain and replace the entire engine coolant. In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for treatment of otherwise toxic coolants removed from engine cooling systems that are targeted for disposal and release into the environment and thereby reduce or eliminate the condition of creating relatively large amounts of toxic waste during routine maintenance and repairs.

    Claims

    1. A method for treating an existing water based engine cooling system containing ethylene glycol comprising: determining the amount of ethylene glycol (EG) present in said engine cooling system; determining the amount of engine coolant initially present within the engine cooling system to be partially removed for replacement with a selected amount of an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme inhibitor; and removing said determined amount of coolant and replacing with said selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor.

    2. The method of claim 1 wherein said engine coolant, after replacement with said selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor, is less toxic than 10,000 mg/kg on an acute LD.sub.50 (rat) oral toxicity test basis.

    3. The method of claim 1 wherein said ADH enzyme inhibitor comprises propylene glycol.

    4. The method of claim 1 wherein said amount of engine coolant to be partially removed for replacement with a selected amount of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) inhibitor comprises less than or equal to 20.0% of the volume of engine coolant initially present.

    5. The method of claim 1 wherein said selected amount of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme inhibitor that is introduced into said engine to replace the determined amount of coolant provides as follows: Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. ADH .Math. .Math. Enzyme .Math. .Math. Inhibitor Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. EG .Math. .Math. Within .Math. .Math. the .Math. .Math. Engine .Math. .Math. Coolant = 0.01 .Math. .Math. to .Math. .Math. 0.30 wherein the weight of ADH enzyme inhibitor is the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is introduced into the engine coolant system and the weight of EG is the weight of EG in the engine coolant.

    6. The method of claim 1 wherein the replacing with said amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor includes the addition of at least one of a buffer, corrosion inhibitor, dye, scale inhibitor, surfactant or chelant.

    7. The method of claim 1 wherein said engine cooling system is an engine cooling system of an internal combustion engine.

    8. The method of claim 1 wherein said internal combustion engine is in an automobile, truck, agricultural or commercial engine.

    9. A method for treating a water based engine cooling system containing ethylene glycol comprising: determining the amount of ethylene glycol (EG) present in said engine cooling system; and introducing into said engine cooling system a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor to achieve the following: Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. ADH .Math. .Math. Enzyme .Math. .Math. Inhibitor Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. EG .Math. .Math. Within .Math. .Math. the .Math. .Math. Engine .Math. .Math. Coolant = 0.01 .Math. .Math. to .Math. .Math. 0.30 wherein the weight of ADH enzyme inhibitor is the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is introduced into the engine cooling system and the weight of EG is the weight of EG in the engine coolant.

    10. A kit for the treatment of a water based engine cooling system containing ethylene glycol (EG) comprising: a first container including a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor for treatment of a selected amount of engine coolant containing ethylene glycol to be removed from an engine cooling system; a second container including a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor for introduction into the engine cooling system; wherein said selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor for introduction into the engine cooling system achieves the following: Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. ADH .Math. .Math. Enzyme .Math. .Math. Inhibitor Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. EG .Math. .Math. Within .Math. .Math. the .Math. .Math. Engine .Math. .Math. Coolant = 0.01 .Math. .Math. to .Math. .Math. 0.30 wherein the weight of ADH enzyme inhibitor is the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is introduced into the engine cooling system and the weight of EG is the weight of EG in the engine coolant.

    11. A kit for the treatment of a water based engine cooling system containing ethylene glycol (EG) comprising: a container including ADH enzyme inhibitor for treatment of engine coolant present in said engine cooling system; instructions for a consumer to determine the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor to add to said engine cooling system so that said engine cooling system achieves the following Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. ADH .Math. .Math. Enzyme .Math. .Math. Inhibitor Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. EG .Math. .Math. Within .Math. .Math. the .Math. .Math. Engine .Math. .Math. Coolant = 0.01 .Math. .Math. to .Math. .Math. 0.30 wherein the weight of ADH enzyme inhibitor is the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is introduced into the engine cooling system and the weight of EG is the weight of EG in the engine coolant.

    Description

    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

    [0029] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow-chart outlining one method of the present invention.

    [0030] FIG. 2 illustrates one preferred configuration of a kit for use by a consumer for treatment of an engine cooling system.

    DETAILED DESCRIPTION

    [0031] The present invention stands directed at apparatus and methods for the addition of selected amounts of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme inhibitors to existing engine cooling systems to reduce or eliminate coolant toxicity as well as the use of such inhibitors for treatment and safe disposal of toxic coolants removed from engines. Reference to alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme inhibitors means any substance that, when mixed with EG and ingested, prevents or substantially diminishes the production of the various toxic metabolites that are related to EG poisoning. Such ADH enzyme inhibitor may therefore preferably include polyhydric alcohols (alcohols that have two hydroxyl or —OH groups) that combine and form blended mixtures with the EG. Reference to blend mixtures with EG should be understood as a mixture wherein the ADH enzyme inhibitor and EG will not phase separate. Preferred ADH enzyme inhibitors herein include propylene glycol (PG) and/or glycerol. In addition, such ADH enzyme inhibitors are also preferably those that have a boiling point above 150° C. (320° F.).

    [0032] For a given and existing engine cooling system, the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is preferably introduced may vary. The goal, however, is to transform an existing aqueous based EG based engine cooling system, which is toxic, into an ADH enzyme inhibitor/EG blend, such that the EG remaining in the coolant is rendered non-toxic, and the ADH enzyme inhibitor/EG blend can still provide requisite cooling to the engine as needed. Accordingly, it is preferred that the percent of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is developed in the engine cooling system is one where as shown in Equation 1 below, the value of:

    [00004] Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. ADH .Math. .Math. Enzyme .Math. .Math. Inhibitor Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. EG .Math. .Math. Within .Math. .Math. the .Math. .Math. Engine .Math. .Math. Coolant

    is preferably in the range of 1.0 percent by weight and 30.0 percent by weight. More preferably, the value is in the range of 1.0 percent to 15.0 percent, or even more preferably, in the range of 1.0 percent to 10.0 percent or 1.0 percent to 5.0 percent or 1.0 percent to 2.5 percent. Preferably, the treated engine coolant is such that the mixture of EG/ADH enzyme inhibitor (e.g. PG) is one that is less toxic than 10,000 mg/kg on an acute LD.sub.50 (rat) oral toxicity basis.

    [0033] Stated another way, the following (Equation 2) is preferably established upon addition of the ADH enzyme inhibitor to an existing engine cooling system:

    [00005] Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. ADH .Math. .Math. Enzyme .Math. .Math. Inhibitor Weight .Math. .Math. of .Math. .Math. EG .Math. .Math. Within .Math. .Math. the .Math. .Math. Engine .Math. .Math. Coolant = 0.01 .Math. .Math. to .Math. .Math. 0.30

    wherein the weight of ADH enzyme inhibitor is the amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is to be introduced into the engine cooling system and the weight of EG is the weight of EG in the engine coolant (the weight of EG in the total engine coolant in the engine).

    [0034] Attention is next directed to FIG. 1. In accordance with a method of the present invention, for a given coolant system that contains EG, one determines the relative amount of EG in the aqueous based coolant that is present in the system that requires detoxification. For example, one considers whether or not the coolant system that contains EG is a 50% EG 50% water system, 60% EG/40% water system or 70% EG/30% water system. Then, one can determine the amount of such coolant that can be partially removed which is then removed and the EG portion is replaced by the selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor so that detoxification can be achieved. In addition, for the coolant that is removed and placed in the disposal section of the kit, such is also now treated with an appropriate amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor so that it may be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. Preferably, the coolant that is removed is also immediately treated so that the toxicity of the EG glycol component is less toxic than 10,000 mg/kg on an acute LD.sub.50 (rat) oral toxicity basis.

    [0035] The above method may preferably be achieved by a kit that can now be supplied to the consumer. Attention is directed to FIG. 2. As can be seen, the kit can be supplied to the consumer in packaging D that preferably contains compartments 1, 2 and 3. The three compartments can contain bottle A which is a graduated container (marked with volume levels) that includes a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor shown generally at L-1 to accommodate and treat a selected amount of waste coolant that is removed from the engine cooling system. Bottle B is another graduated container from which a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor is drawn for introduction into the engine cooling system, if a selected amount of engine coolant is removed to accommodate the introduction of the ADH enzyme inhibitor. Also shown as item C is a squeeze bulb to extract the desired amount of coolant from the engine to be placed in graduated container A for treatment with a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor for safe disposal. Such kit may therefore be preloaded with requisite levels of ADH enzyme inhibitor in graduated containers A and B to detoxify a selected engine cooling system of up to a particular size and having up to a particular volume of coolant. In addition, the kit can optionally include a device to determine the relative concentration of EG in the existing engine cooling system that is to be treated, so that if necessary, the consumer is alerted to the need to utilize additional amounts of ADH enzyme inhibitor if the engine coolant to be treated has some unusually high level of EG present (e.g., levels of EG in the EG/water coolant that exceeds 50% by weight).

    [0036] In addition, it is worth noting that if the consumer determines that the level of EG present in their particular EG/water cooling system is actually less than 50% by weight, the preloaded quantities of ADH enzyme inhibitor that are present in graduated cylinders A and B may only partially be utilized or left as supplied and need not be adjusted, as having an excess of ADH enzyme inhibitor, both in treatment of the engine (cylinder B) and treatment of the coolant that is removed (cylinder A) is not a disadvantage and can actually serve to provide a “buffer” to maintaining the detoxified condition of the the engine coolant at issue, in the event that the EG levels are inadvertently increased by the consumer.

    [0037] It can therefore be appreciated that the kit apparatus of FIG. 2, combined with the methods of the present invention, reduces or eliminates problems associated with previous approaches for installation of ADH enzyme inhibitors to detoxify an engine's EG cooling system. The problems of difficulty of use, complexity in determining the actual treatment levels for the engine coolant and the removed coolant are now eliminated by the kit apparatus of FIG. 1. In addition, it is worth nothing that the entire engine coolant does not have to be removed, and as discussed further herein, with respect to the step of needing to remove a determined amount of coolant, it is now only necessary to remove less than or equal to 20.0%, at the most, of the volume of engine coolant that is initially present. More preferably, one need only remove less than or equal to 15.0% of the volume of engine coolant present, or less than or equal to 10.0% of engine coolant volume present, or less than or equal to 5.0% of the volume of engine coolant that is present, or less than or equal to 1.25% of the volume of engine coolant that is present.

    [0038] A more detailed description of the kit apparatus of FIG. 1 would, by way of example for a typical 2.0 gallon system, proceed as follows. First, one would remove the cap on the expansion tank of a given engine coolant system. Using the squeeze bulb C one can remove sufficient coolant from the expansion tank and/or radiator to transfer and fill the waste coolant bottle A to top mark 5. As can be seen, waste coolant bottle A may be supplied at L-1 with about 0.5 oz (14.8 cc) of the ADH enzyme inhibitor (PG). The 0.5 oz of AHD enzyme inhibitor (PG) will then mix with any EG/water coolant that is removed and render the EG fraction non-toxic. That is, the EG/water coolant that is removed from the engine is treated with a sufficient amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor such that it is less toxic than 10,000 mg/kg on an acute LD.sub.50 (rat) oral toxicity basis.

    [0039] Next, the treatment mixing bottle B is selected which is typically a 14.0 oz capacity bottle and is set in total volume to be used in this example for up to a 2.0 gallon EG/water cooling system. The bottle B is supplied with about 214 cc of the ADH enzyme inhibitor (PG) which is shown at L-2 and is the desired amount of treatment of PG fluid. This is based on PG toxicity testing results described herein to treat the system with preferably about 5.0% PG by weight relative to the weight of EG present (see again Equation 1). Bottle B is then filled with water to the fluid mark 4. At that point the ADH enzyme inhibitor/water mixture in bottle B is ready for addition to the engine. Below is the relevant calculation for such treatment: [0040] Two gallon engine coolant system made up of a 50/50 EG/water blend contains 1 gallon of EG for treatment [0041] 1 gallon of EG equals 128 oz which equals 3,785 cc. [0042] Density of EG is 1.115 g/cc [0043] 3785 cc×1.115 g/cc=4220.2 g of EG present [0044] Goal is to provide 5.0% PG relative to the EG present [0045] Using Equation 1, the amount of PG to achieve at least 5.0% PG of the total weight of glycol present indicates the need to provide 211 g of PG. [0046] PG density is 1.036 g/cc [0047] 211 g (PG)×1 cc/1.036 g=203.6 cc of PG into bottle B at L-2.

    [0048] As may be appreciated, if higher concentrations of PG are desired, then the amount of PG in bottle B may be increased. In addition, it can be seen that for a two gallon engine coolant system, containing 50% EG/water, a relatively small amount of the engine coolant can be removed (about 410 cc) so that about 203.6 cc of PG and 203.6 cc of water can be introduced to provide for a non-toxic engine coolant system. It can be appreciated that upon removal of 410 cc of, in this example, the two gallon 50/50 EG water blend, such would remove 205 cc of EG, thereby removing about 228.6 g of EG. Accordingly, when introducing 211 g of PG, the percent of ADH enzyme inhibitor (PG) relative to the ethylene glycol component present is as follows: 211 g PG/3992 g EG=0.053.

    [0049] It is next worth noting that the present invention need not rely upon what is illustrated in FIG. 2. That is, in certain engine cooling systems, it may not be necessary to first remove any particular amount of the EG/water coolant as there will be adequate space in the engine coolant expansion tank or even within a given radiator tank, and the requisite amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that may be necessary to detoxify the EG present may be introduced directly into such an engine cooling system with no removal of any coolant. For the convenience of consumers in connection with such engine cooling systems, one may supply graduated containers of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is calculated, according to Equation 1, to provide an amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor where the percentage of ADH enzyme inhibitor (e.g. PG) relative to the total weight of glycol component present again falls in the range of 1.0 percent to 30.0 percent.

    [0050] As alluded to above, the preferred amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor that is introduced into a given engine coolant system will result in improved LD.sub.50 such that the glycol component is less toxic than 10,000 mg/kg on an acute LD.sub.50 (rat) oral toxicity test basis. It can now be appreciated that the toxicity levels that can be achieved herein when utilizing ADH enzyme inhibitor have been tested and determined to be as follows:

    TABLE-US-00001  5.0% PG/95.0% EG 15,000 mg/kg LD.sub.50 10.0% PG/90.0% EG 24,000 mg/kg LD.sub.50 30.0% PG/70.0% EG >40,000 mg/kg LD.sub.50 

    [0051] Moreover, optionally, within the kits described herein, one may include and introduce into the engine coolant, along with the ADH enzyme inhibitor discussed herein, various other additives to impart desired characteristics to the coolant. Such additives may include buffers, corrosion inhibitors, dyes, scale inhibitors, surfactants or chelants.

    [0052] It can now be appreciated that the present invention provides an apparatus and method to allow consumers to treat existing cooling systems containing EG via removal of only a relatively small portion of the engine coolant (e.g., less than or equal to 20% of the volume of coolant present) followed by treatment with a selected amount of ADH enzyme inhibitor. Engine coolants may be those present in automobiles, trucks, agricultural equipment (e.g. tractors) and commercial engines (e.g. industrial compressors or rock/metal crushing machines), or any internal combustion engine that relies on liquid cooling systems. In addition, to the extent that any coolant is removed to accommodate the addition of ADH enzyme inhibitor, such removed coolant is also rendered non-toxic. Consumers now may convert a previously toxic engine coolant to a non-toxic engine coolant, while maintaining the original cooling capacity of the system.

    [0053] Finally, after the addition of the ADH enzyme inhibitor as described herein, the engine's coolant system will be non-toxic in the event of a system leakage such as what may be typically realized in an overheat condition. Furthermore, the coolant herein will be rendered non-toxic for any future drainage required for coolant system repair or routine periodic coolant changes, maintain a much more safer environment.