EnviroTech Journal

When implementing a deicing and anti-icing program, there are many factors to consider. What product is best for various road and weather conditions? How much product should be used? What method should be used to apply the product?

When you are planning product application and applying product, it is important to keep a few things in mind. Check out a few tips on the best practices and considerations when it comes to deicing and anti-icing: 

Granular deicer, Ice Slicer®, has increased power to break the bond of snow and ice from various surfaces compared to traditional deicing solutions. Ice Slicer is a homogenous (non-blended) solution primarily composed of four complex chlorides and  50+ trace minerals. Although the initial price of Ice Slicer might be higher than traditional solutions, the superior performance decreases overall costs because of lower application rates and reduced manpower. Additionally, the natural corrosion-inhibitors crystallized within each granule prevents excess damage to machinery, which decreases the overall cost of ownership.

Don't just take our word for it. Let's look at study results comparing Ice Slicer's performance to white salt, solar salt, and sand.

Snowplows are a vital service to ensure the safety of our community. Many drivers have adopted to snowy road conditions, yet they remain uncertain when they encounter a snowplow. Snowplows are generally equipped with a large, heavy plow on the front, which allows them to clear ice and snow from the roads.

Ensuring the safety of motorists and passability of roadways in the winter months is critical in many regions of the country. Some of the most useful parts of the toolkit many municipalities use to ensure roadway safety are deicing chemicals such as granular rock salt, salt brine, magnesium chloride, or calcium chloride. These chemicals function by effectively lowering the freezing point of water. Deicers can be used before a storm to prevent snow and ice from bonding as solidly to pavement and improve the effectiveness of plowing. Typically, this is called “anti-icing” and brine's are predominantly used in this capacity.

As we detailed in our November Blog, EnviroTech and Redmond are working with WTI (Western Transportation Institute) to develop a test that measures the influence a deicer has on surface friction. The existing standard test, SHRP 205 doesn’t provide performance-based results that speak to the true goal of deicing – which is to return a driving surface to a safe friction level as quickly as possible for a sustained period, and at maximum efficiency. Again, this new friction test, and its resulting data, was developed as a test method using a friction analyzer, a cold plate, and simulated track to measure the true effectiveness of deicers - replicating as closely as possible real-life conditions. 

Friction is very important to people – without it, for example, we could not walk or even crawl, so why did it take so long for the study of the relationship that exist between deicers and snowy/icy roads.  Scientists at EnviroTech Services have been studying this relationship and with the help of modern road sensors have developed a test that shows the effect on friction for deicers.  A little history on friction and tires, roads and now deicers follows.

Over the next three months, we will be looking at series called the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for Applying Dust Control. The first TCO we’ll look at is costs and benefits of Treating vs. Leaving untreated unpaved roads, next we’ll investigate some of the hidden costs of using water as Dust Suppressant and finally, we’ll finish up the series with equipment maintenance benefits/savings.

Unpaved roads can be an unpleasant nuisance, affecting the quality of life for everyone who travels on gravel roads and those who live or work nearby. It is also a warning sign of costly road damage that can increase maintenance requirements and strain road commission budgets. Just as important, road dust can threaten the driving safety and public health, damage vehicles, and other property, and harm our natural environment. Considering that there are approximately two million miles of unpaved roads in the U.S. and more than 600,000 km in Canada, efforts to control road dust are a concern in both the United States and Canada. The issues with unpaved roads and dust control exist globally also.

AMP® is one of EnviroTech’s latest product releases and it brings technical innovation and outstanding product quality to the salt brine additive market. Salt Brine is a great tool for snowfighters, as it can be used for pre-treating, deicing and anti-icing. But salt brine alone has some very detectable performance limitations: 1) salt brine is prone to drying out and being blown from the surface by the wind, 2) the melting point of salt brine is often not low enough to be effective in many storms, and 3) salt brine is among the worst options in terms of the corrosion it will cause. 

The Owl Canyon Corridor in Northern Larimer County is an eleven-mile section of Larimer County Road 70 and 72 that serves as an important connection between US Highway 287 and Interstate 25. The westernmost three miles of the corridor is non-paved consisting of a treated gravel surface.