Antifreeze under suspicion. The most honest story about non-freezing liquids! Rules for the transportation of dangerous goods

When winter comes, anti-freeze becomes the most popular product among motorists. It can end at the most inopportune moment, so there are often sellers on the highway who sell such products. They not only sell the liquid, but also help fill it into the radiator. Selling antifreeze on the highway as a business brings in good income. We will discuss how to organize such a thing in this article.

Registration of activities

First of all, let’s figure out what documents are needed to sell antifreeze on the highway, otherwise you will have to constantly pay fines for illegal trade.

To obtain permission, you need to open an individual entrepreneur or LLC. In addition, it is necessary to have certificates confirming the quality of the products.

Many novice entrepreneurs are interested in what fine they can be imposed on them for selling anti-freeze products if they engage in business activities without state registration. In accordance with the law, a fine of 500-2000 rubles is provided for such an offense.

Some businessmen open such a business illegally. They hire people, unload goods to them at the point, and at the end of the working day they take the proceeds and unsold products. In this case, responsibility for the sale of the antifreeze rests entirely with the seller.

Business Features

If you decide to organize the sale of anti-freeze products as a business, you need to learn to adapt to external conditions. Unscrupulous sellers sell liquids of varying quality on the highway. The worst liquid freezes at -5 degrees, so they try to sell it while there is no severe frost. A high-quality anti-freeze product is used when it is very cold outside. Honest entrepreneurs do not deceive their customers. Usually the same motorists drive along the highway, so they do not want to spoil their reputation and lose regular customers.

There are two ways to implement the business idea of ​​selling antifreeze:

1. Buy 100-200 bottles of liquid and sell it on the track yourself;
2. Purchase a large batch of goods and sell antifreeze in bulk from the manufacturer. Your clients can be car services, shops, taxi companies, etc.

The cost of one bottle of liquid largely depends on its quality and manufacturer. It is most profitable to purchase products in bulk from 2000 pieces. In this case, one 5-liter canister will cost you 30-35 rubles. The retail price ranges from 100-150 rubles. Based on this, we can safely say that the business of selling antifreeze on the road is highly profitable.

Financial calculations

If you decide to start selling anti-freeze products on the roadside, the first thing you need to do is find reliable suppliers. They must provide you with all the documents for the antifreeze liquid. Without quality certificates, serious problems may arise with the sale of goods. Entrepreneurs who are interested in the wholesale sale of anti-freeze products should visit the nearest car service centers and stores to conclude agreements with them for the supply of products. In addition, you can create your own website on the Internet and advertise in the media.

To purchase a wholesale batch of antifreeze liquid, you will need 60 thousand rubles. For 5 thousand rubles it will be delivered by truck to your warehouse. If you plan to hire workers for trade, you need to allocate funds for wages. In addition, you need to buy gasoline to distribute the goods to retail outlets. In large cities, sellers of non-freezing liquid sell 150-350 bottles on the road per day, which is about 20 thousand rubles in net profit.

Anti-freeze production

To increase your income, you can open . To do this, you will need a small room with an area of ​​15-20 square meters. meters. It is advisable to involve a qualified specialist in the work, who will develop the recipe and monitor the quality of the products. If your financial capabilities do not allow you to hire a professional, you can independently study all the nuances of this process and choose the right ratio of components.

The technology for producing non-freezing liquid is quite simple. Purified water is mixed with alcohol, after which the liquid is subjected to heat treatment. The finished product is bottled and labeled.

Sales of finished products

Since there is a high level of competition in this area, you will have to make a lot of effort to promote your product. A large-scale advertising campaign in this case is impractical. It is enough to simply advertise in local media, emphasizing that you offer completely safe, environmentally friendly products.

The best option is to supply antifreeze to retail outlets. In addition, you can organize a delivery service for antifreeze liquid to the specified address. To achieve high profitability of this business, you first need to establish effective sales. This is the key to the success of any manufacturing enterprise.

Selling anti-freeze products from vending machines

Recently, vending machines have become very popular. To organize a profitable business, you can purchase a special device for selling antifreeze. The convenience of such a vending machine is obvious. Any motorist who uses this service can purchase the required amount of liquid. At the same time, he will not have to look for a canister and get his hands dirty, since it can be poured directly into the tank using a special pistol.

Video on the topic

These machines operate 24 hours a day, so you can make a purchase at any time of the day or night. Externally, the machine somewhat resembles a coffee machine. It is equipped with a small hose and a special gun. In addition, the device has a bill acceptor, a tank with a capacity of 100-200 liters and software that controls the subsidy. The operation of such a machine can be controlled remotely via the Internet.

One device can sell two types of liquid. In a month you can sell about 400 liters of anti-freeze. Net income from one machine is 14 thousand rubles monthly.

To make a good profit, you need to know the main secrets of selling anti-freeze products through vending machines:

• Place visited;
• Timely refueling;
• Regular maintenance of the machine;
• Sales of high-quality non-freezing liquid.

If you are also interested in, on the highway, you can immediately draw up a business plan for the sale of anti-freeze and its production in order to organize a sales point on the basis of a car repair shop for the sale of such products. It will bring good additional income to your company.

conclusions

Now you know what is needed to sell anti-freeze products and how to properly organize such a business. It does not require large investments, but at the same time allows you to receive a good income. This is the most affordable and easiest option for those who are interested in

Such concern for the health of depressed citizens has endangered the lives of millions of drivers who, in severe frosts, are deprived of the opportunity to drive with clean windows. The situation has not changed in 17 years. Illiterate statements in some media only aggravate it: every now and then you have to read about the pungent smell of methanol washer... Meanwhile, we are always talking about isopropyl, whose amber cannot be confused with any other.

We are prohibited from using methanol, but it is safer than the officially sold washers! Measurements inside a car with the windshield washer constantly on show that when using a methanol-based liquid, its maximum permissible concentration in the driver’s working area is reached after about five minutes, and if it is isopropanol-based, after 5–10 seconds. Wow difference!

Not for internal use

According to our observations, about 50% of windshield washers sold on the market are counterfeit methanol liquids. And since methyl alcohol is actually illegal in our country, clandestine washer manufacturers purchase it illegally, without even telling their own employees what they are dealing with. The taste and smell of poisonous methanol is indistinguishable from edible ethanol. Therefore, the mentioned workers, not realizing the danger, not only can get drunk themselves, but also sometimes sell stolen alcohol to others.

It is for this reason that methanol is spreading throughout the country, causing many deaths. And the main source of its uncontrolled free circulation is where it passes through as ordinary industrial alcohol. At enterprises that legally use methanol, this is excluded: the liquid is supplied in road or rail tanks with the inscription “Methanol is poison”, stored in containers with similar reminders, and all employees are informed what methanol is and how to work with it.

The most popular solution in our country is to ban, close, destroy. But the illegal market will not disappear from this. And the prices for washer fluid will skyrocket! Isopropyl alcohol, on the basis of which our washer fluids are made, is produced by the only enterprise in the country - the Orsk Synthetic Alcohol Plant. The end result will be that the cost of its products will rise to the level of imported ones.

This leads to an even larger price gap between illegal methanol and legal isopropyl washer. Both the consumer and the honest producer lose.

Viscosity of windshield washer fluids based on various alcohols

The solution is ready!

Methanol is only poisonous when it enters a person's stomach. This means that you just need to prevent ingestion. The easiest way is to make it denatured by adding so-called denatonium benzoate (aka Bitrex). This super-bitter substance instantly discourages you from using this antifreeze for other purposes. By the way, Bitrex was tested according to a program signed by the same sanitary doctor, and passed all the tests.

Does all methanol produced need to be denatured? It is enough to introduce “selective” denaturation so that, along with technical methanol, which is produced in accordance with GOST 2222–95, denatured methanol is produced - in accordance with technical specifications or STO. After the legalization of such a product by Rospotrebnadzor, it will become possible to produce windshield washer fluids that are absolutely unsuitable for internal consumption. Moreover, the same can be done with raw materials based on ethyl alcohol. The state will receive an excise tax on the sale of food alcohol, and finished products made using denatured alcohol should be exempt from excise taxes. Everyone will benefit. If, of course, the state wants to preserve people's health.

Soon it will be 15 years since methanol-based antifreeze is outlawed, and we are forced to use expensive and odorous isopropyl. Let's figure out what the reason for the ban is and which liquid is better to choose.

First, let's remember the main components of antifreeze washer fluids. These are water, surfactants (surfactants), which are responsible for cleaning glass, dyes, “perfume” flavors and temperature modifiers - ethyl, methyl or isopropyl alcohol, as well as monoethylene glycol, which prevent the liquid from freezing and hardening.

O-ash!

The best thermal modifier is ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol, also known as “food” or “vodka” alcohol. In all respects (safety, cost, freezing point) it is superior to methyl and isopropyl, but in Russia the excise tax on its use is so high that domestic manufacturers of “anti-freeze” products have abandoned it. As an exception, sometimes “premium” ethanol “anti-freeze” products are on sale at a price of about 1,500 rubles per 5-liter canister.

Dangerous methanol?

Slightly inferior to ethanol in terms of technical criteria is methyl alcohol, also known as methanol, also known as wood alcohol. Methanol in the Russian Federation is not subject to excise taxes and is relatively cheap at wholesale cost (from 12 to 17 thousand rubles per ton, depending on the manufacturer and delivery conditions), has a low freezing point (- 97.8 ° C) and, unlike isopropyl alcohol , has no pronounced odor.

However, in Russia, since 2007, methanol has been prohibited for use as a component of automobile fluids - such compositions can neither be produced nor imported into the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, in the EU countries, in particular, close to us Finland and Estonia, methanol “anti-freeze” products are produced and sold without restrictions.

True, in order to justify the ban, we refer not to the European experience, but to certain “domestic realities” and “certain segments of society” who drink surrogates of alcohol and are able, out of ignorance and habit from the 90s, to drink a windshield wiper, not knowing that they contain methanol .

Methyl alcohol- a strong poison, 10 grams of which, when ingested, causes blindness, and 30 grams causes death.

However, the toxicity of methanol vapors is the same as legal isopropyl alcohol. The maximum permissible concentration of methanol in the air of the working area is 5 mg/cub.m, for isopropyl alcohol 10 mg/cub.m, and for ethyl alcohol, for comparison, this figure is 1000 mg/cub.m. According to the classification, both isopropyl alcohol and methanol belong to the third hazard class (the most dangerous is the first, the least dangerous is the fourth).

If you still have any doubts, we bring to your attention a quote from the official decree of the Ministry of Health 14 years ago:

...The use of windshield washer fluids for their intended purpose does not have a harmful effect on human health, which is confirmed by many years of practice of their use abroad and the absence of poisoning in our country.

At the same time, given the low level of culture and hygienic education of part of the population, neglect of factors harmful to health and compliance with sanitary requirements in the field of occupational hygiene, the recent increase in “socially disadvantaged persons” without a specific place of residence and guided by Article 51 of the Federal Law “On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population”, I decree:

1. Organizations and enterprises are prohibited from July 1, 2000, from producing and selling windshield washer fluids containing methanol...

Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation G. G. Onishchenko
Resolution of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated May 23, 2000 N 4

Nevertheless, many publications on the Internet incite fear and hysteria about “anti-freeze” products containing methanol, talk about the “extreme danger of inhaling odorless toxic fumes” and suggest choosing an “anti-freeze” based on the smell - the stronger it is, the less methanol. Let us leave these tips to the conscience of the authors, and we declare with all authority to the readers that if methanol liquid is used for its intended purpose, it will not cause any harm.

However, we will not advise buying counterfeit goods on the streets and smuggling them across the border from Finland. Purely theoretically, if they find a canister of methanol “anti-freeze” in your trunk, you may be convicted under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products that do not meet safety requirements.” Do you have the product? Eat. Is transportation carried out? Yes. Nevertheless, in practice, the police do not bother motorists who prefer not to limit themselves because of the alcohol addictions of marginalized people. And we can only guess what kind of relationship they have with methanol sellers.

A little conspiracy theory

There is an opinion that the ban on the production of methyl alcohol in Russia is the result of the work of the oil lobby. Proponents of this theory say that isopropyl alcohol in industrial chemistry is obtained by the method of sulfuric acid hydration of propylene. But propylene, in turn, is a by-product of oil refining.

And the theory would look harmonious if not for an interesting fact: the main raw material for the production of methanol is synthesis gas, which is produced by pyrolysis of natural gas. Of course, the Russian budget received $191 billion from oil exports last year, and only $28 billion from gas... But still, the ban on methanol “anti-freeze” as a result of Rosneft’s victory over Gazprom looks somehow strange. Perhaps it’s all about the habits of the lumpen, whose mass death is not needed by the state.

Legal stink

Now in the Russian Federation, only “anti-freeze” products based on isopropyl alcohol can be legally produced and imported into the country. From a technical, economic and consumer point of view, it is the worst of all alcohols used for antifreeze. Isopropyl has the highest freezing point (- 89 ° C) and to obtain a liquid with a threshold of - 30 ° C, its share should be 50%, that is, half of the volume of the canister.

At the same time, isopropyl has a fairly high wholesale cost - about five times more expensive than methyl. The cost of an “honest” isopropyl “anti-freeze”, therefore, turns out to be quite high, despite the fact that in addition to alcohol, various flavoring additives are added to the cost, designed to kill the pungent odor inherent in isopropyl. By the way, the health safety of these “fragrances” is also a big question.

Shopping

Thanks to our legislation, two poles have emerged on the Russian anti-freeze market. On one - expensive isopropyl liquids costing 400-600 rubles, sold at gas stations, in prestigious supermarkets, car dealerships, etc. On the other - cheap “anti-freeze” methanol products sold in markets, highways or via the Internet costing 100-200 rubles, actually produced underground.

Thus, by paying 500 rubles for a 5-liter canister - 30° C, the consumer receives a completely legal product, which is relatively guaranteed to comply with the solidification threshold of the liquid and the use of high-quality surfactants and dyes in it that will not corrode plastics and rubber in the windshield washer lines. But you will still have to breathe the smell of isopropyl “lemon” or “pine”.

On the other hand, the contents of a clandestinely made methanol bottle for 150 rubles will not have any pungent odor. But what powerful surfactants were mixed in there and with water from what ditch they were diluted - no one knows. Compliance with the freezing threshold is not guaranteed either.

By the way, we note that freezing of liquid before the stated temperature is one of the most unpleasant “ambushes”. Winter “washers” quite rarely freeze into ice and tear the lines (unless it’s really bad), but the resulting snow-like mass, although it won’t put the system out of action, will also prevent you from using the washer. Such “snow” takes a particularly long time to dissolve in the long lines of headlight washers and rear door glass.

The middle segment of “anti-freeze” products also represents a kind of lottery, priced from 200 to 400 rubles for a 5 liter canister - 30° C. Here, to reduce their costs and achieve a competitive retail price, manufacturers save on everything: they use cheaper surfactants, dyes and “fragrances” , they add monoethylene glycol (aka ethylene glycol, aka MEG) or secretly and without indicating on the label - the same methyl alcohol. Or, worst of all, they simply do not add enough isopropyl, and this liquid freezes earlier than indicated on the package. It all depends on the manufacturer, his desire for profit and his attitude towards his products and their customers.

What's the result?

It is difficult to give clear advice on choosing a washer. As you can see, isopropyl liquids smell unpleasant, and methanol liquids are unstable in their quality and are illegal. You can draw conclusions yourself, based on your life priorities.

The worse the weather, the more spontaneous points of sale of anti-freeze products there are along the roadsides. For a canister of poisonous blue liquid they ask for only a hundred, while at gas stations the cost of anti-freeze reaches 400 rubles. Here are 7 things you need to know so as not to make a mistake with your choice.

1.​ If methanol, or methyl alcohol (and it is almost certainly in canisters) enters the human body, it can lead to blindness and death. True, for such an outcome you need to drink it, but methanol can enter the body in another way. When pouring antifreeze into the tank, drops of liquid end up on the driver’s hands. After this, he will rub his eyes, smoke, pick his teeth - this may at least be enough to cause poisoning.

2.​ Breathing the vapors of such anti-freeze is also dangerous, but you won’t be able to not breathe - they are guaranteed to penetrate into the cabin through the ventilation system. And there, not only the driver who decided to save money breathes in a dangerous substance, but also his passengers. By the way, the highest concentration of harmful vapors in the cabin is when the car is parked and in traffic jams. At this time, generally try to use the washer less often, even if you have normal legal liquid in the reservoir. If the “left” anti-freeze agent suddenly spills in the passenger compartment or trunk, the saturation of vapors in the car will increase sharply, and with it all the above-mentioned health hazards. Moreover, the vapors will take a very long time to evaporate from the car. You need to at least ventilate the interior properly. By the way, it’s worth doing this more often, and not only if you’ve spilled something: even breathing with legal anti-freeze is not at all useful.

3. Methanol has a cumulative, that is, accumulative, effect. A driver can use a methyl alcohol-based antifreeze for a long time and not notice any harm. However, in the body, methanol breaks down into substances such as formic acid and formaldehyde. Over several years, the concentration of these toxins becomes critical, and health problems begin, usually with the respiratory tract, skin, central nervous system, and eyes. Moreover, it will be difficult for the sick person to identify the real reason for all this.

4.​ Another danger of the left anti-freeze is that it can still freeze. Let’s say it’s indicated on the label that the liquid does not crystallize until -20, but in reality even at -10 it’s of no use. You may find out about this unexpectedly while driving, when you are trying to wash dirty glass, but nothing comes out of the nozzles. It is no less unpleasant when liquid pours, but the windshield instantly becomes covered with frost. In both cases the driver is disoriented. So it’s not far from the accident.

5.​ You can tell that a dangerous “leftist” is in front of you by smell. By the way, there is no need to diligently sniff everything that is offered to you - who knows what you will breathe. Remember your chemistry lessons, when they advised to sniff any substances not by leaning on the flask, but by pushing the vapor towards you with your hand. Oddly enough, the more unpleasant the aroma of the antifreeze, the greater the chance that there is no methanol in the canister. Isopropyl alcohol, used in legal washer fluids, has a pungent odor, which they try to drown out with fragrances with an equally powerful aroma. Methyl alcohol itself smells soft and sweet, so there is nothing to interrupt the left-wing manufacturers of anti-freeze products.

6. Drivers who have children should be especially careful when choosing washer fluid. After all, if an adult understands that this interesting-smelling liquid is not worth drinking, then a child’s sweetish aroma and unusual color can arouse gastronomic interest. Again, in the case of isopropyl alcohol this is unlikely, but methanol smells quite like some kind of fruit drink. The consequences, unfortunately, are catastrophic.

7.​ The left anti-freeze can be recognized primarily by the price. Methanol is cheap to produce, so anti-freeze products sold for 80-100 rubles are almost 100% made from it. Legal windshield washer fluid cannot cost that much; its price should be at least twice as high. Of course, those who buy this cheap product will not spend money on containers made of thick, cloudy plastic. Although it is in such canisters (and not in standard five-liter transparent eggplants) that normal companies pour windshield washer fluid.