Research On A New Highly Effective Deicing Salt

In cold areas in many countries in the world, the winter snow and ice do great harm to the people and public. The problem the snow causes influences the people's lives and impedes the economic development. Meanwhile the transportation infrastructure such as highway intercity and airstrip needs a great amount of deicing salts to maintain the bare road. Therefore from 1980s, many areas and countries such as North American, North Europe, Japan have greater and greater demands on the deicing salts, about 20 million tons per year, only Japan needs 200 to 300 thousand tons per year.There are all kinds of the deicing salts, mainly divided into two kinds: traditional deicing salt such as sodium chloride and organic deicer such as CMA. While rock salt (NaCl) is relatively abundant and a very cheap deicer, it is endothermic while melting, pollutes the environment and accelerates corrosion of vehicles, bridges, guardrails and reinforcing steel in concrete. As salt is washed from the roadways it infiltrates the surface waters and underlying ground waters.CMA, as an alternate deicer, tends to inhibit corrosion and appears to be relatively harmless to the environment. But CMA is expensive because of the high price of its material, and it has less ability in melting ice than sodium chloride. Besides these, CMA sticks to wet surfaces and can congeal to form hard chunks, difficult to store for a long time, dusty and a strong vinegar smell when spread. All of these aspects need to be improved.Considering the disadvantages of the two kinds of the deicers, great amounts of the science data are referred in the research experiment, by developing the main materials and the additives, a new kind of deicer: PAL is founded. Not only does PAL remain the advantages of the traditional deicer such as cheap materials and low freezing point: -43.8 C, but it has the character of CMA, low corrosion to steel and concrete. The primary goal to develop a new highly effective deicer is gained.The product developed in the experiment enriches the diversity of the deicers, has some application value, and becomes one of the first-choice deicers in cold areas in winter.