Agricultural By-Products for Anti-Icing and Deicing Use in Michigan Summary

摘要

Keeping Michigan highways and roads clear of snow and ice during the winter can be a significant challenge to an agency's resources and personnel. The widespread use of rock salt (sodium chloride) to remove snow and ice and facilitate a "bare pavement" level of service has provided for the increased safety of motorists for some time. However, deicing salt use has some detrimental side effects. The damage to the ecosystem from chloride ions has been documented along with the corrosive effects to metals. Several strategies have been suggested to deal with the effects of using rock salt One approach has been direct substitution with chloride-free chemicals. Another idea is to use salt with added corrosion inhibitors to offset or delay the effects of corrosion, this is usually less expensive than complete substitution of chloride-based deicers. Unfortunately, alternatives to salt can be expensive and may require additional applications to obtain the same result In recent years anti-icing compounds developed from agricultural by-products (ABP) have been introduced. Manufacturers claim that ABPs perform better, are environmentally friendly, and are less corrosive than conventional anti-icing and deicing materials. These products have shown promise in trial applications within Michigan and elsewhere in the nation. Their primary use is for anti-icing operations, but improved performance of deicing chemicals used in conjunction with ABPs also has been documented.