Which one of the following is used as an anti-freeze for the automobile engines?

Ethylene glycol (a dihydric alcohol) is widely used as an automobile engine antifreeze because it is very water‑soluble and has a relatively high boiling point and low freezing point when mixed with water, properties that make it suitable for engine cooling fluids. Coolant formulations for engines are aqueous bases often modified with organic additives to depress freezing point and raise boiling point, and ethylene glycol is a standard constituent of such coolants [1]. By contrast, lower‑molecular‑weight alcohols like methanol and ethanol are more volatile, have much lower boiling points, and methanol is also highly toxic if ingested, making them unsuitable as long‑term engine antifreeze agents [1].

Sources

1. [1] https://data.epo.org/publication-server/rest/v1.0/publication-dates/20181205/patents/EP3409745NWA1/document.pdf
2. [2] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 4: Carbon and its Compounds > How do alcohols affect living beings? > p. 72