The facts

Liquid Anti-icing requires less material*

• Studies show that traffic from as few as five cars can knock off 80% of solid ice-melting material, such as rock salt.
• Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine penetrates the pores of road surfaces and is not disturbed by vehicle traffic.
• Less material is needed to melt ice, reducing the costs of a contractor's operations.
• Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine prevents a bond from forming between the pavement and snow. Plow time could be reduced by as much as five times.

Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine is more effective than other products*

• Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine (CaCl2) out-performed other products by as much as 71.4%
• Salt pre-wetted with Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine out-performed dry salt by as much as 40% in terms of reducing snow cover.
• Research shows Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine (CaCl2) was the most effective agent, regardless of the dry salt rate and pre-wetting ratio.
• "CaCl2 has been used as a freeze-proofing additive to salt since the 1940s. Experience has shown the use of CaCl2 to have an advantage over NaCl because it is hygroscopic; i.e., it will absorb moisture from air at a relative humidity (RH) of 42 percent and higher. This serves to keep the salt crystals on the pavement after the bulk of the water has evaporated or been removed by traffic. In contrast, salt by itself will dry up and much will blow away."**

• Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine has been produced commercially for more than 100 years.
• Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine is essentially non-toxic and presents no unusual hazard to people, animals, or the environment, when used as recommended.
• This has been documented for many years by many government agencies and commercial firms.

Anti-icing

Anti-icing is a proactive approach to snow and ice control. Treatments consist of applying Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine or pre-wetted salt to pavement before, or at the beginning of, a storm. Treatments create a barrier to prevent snow and ice from bonding to pavement. This allows accumulated snow to be pushed off the road, leaving the pavement relatively dry.

Anti-icing has several benefits:

• it reduces the total chemical use,
• it reduces materials and equipment costs and time,
• pavement conditions are better when ice formation is prevented,
• and it makes post-storm cleanup easier and faster.

Pre-wetting

Preliminary findings from research points out that pre-wetted salt is more effective than dry salt for snow and ice control.

The research, conducted by Dr. Liping Fu and his research team at the University of Waterloo for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, found that, under the same conditions and application rates, salt pre-wetted with Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine out-performed dry salt by as much as 40 percent in terms of reducing snow cover.

In addition, Fu's research identified substantial evidence on the relative performance of the three commonly used pre-wetting agents:

• Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine (CaCl2),
• Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2) and
• Sodium Chloride brine (NaCl).

It was found that Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine (CaCl2) was the most effective agent under the conditions tested, regardless of the dry salt rate and pre-wetting ratio. Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine (CaCl2) out-performed MgCl2 by 9.5% to 71.4% and NaCl by 37.5% in terms of average snow cover, the research states.

Deicing

Perhaps most important in deicing applications is the superior deicing speed and power of Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine (CaCl2) . The chart below shows the time it takes Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine to melt 1/8" of glare ice, as compared to rock salt.

Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine resists evaporation, which means longer-lasting effects, even as ice and snow melts and the solution becomes diluted.

Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine creates heat

Another distinguishing characteristic of Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine is that it gives off heat as it dissolves. This heat-releasing feature exists with liquid forms when calcium chloride content is high. Other common chemicals need to be heated to dissolve into a solution. See below for a comparison of other common deicers.

Commercial and residential uses

Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine has been used for snow and ice removal and anti-icing around buildings and grounds for many years.

Many agencies and businesses are using salt and Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine together, called "pre-wetting", on private grounds, drives, construction sites as well as on public roadways.

Many snow removal contractors have benefited from the flexibility that liquid Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine provides by applying the chloride as an anti-icing agent at the beginning of a storm.

The environmental friendliness, cost effectiveness and portability of Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine, and the ability to purchase in smaller quantities, makes it an attractive option for both large agencies and the small business owner.

Application

There are three well-established application methods being used to apply liquid Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine to rock salt.

• Truck-Mounted Application System
  • Larger, commercial or governmental trucks
  • Pick-up trucks
• Truckload Applications (used in pre-wetting salt)
• Liquid Liquid Calcium Chloride Brine Dispensing Systems

Application rates will vary, but pre-treatment of approximately 60 to 100 gallons per acre, or lane mile, is sufficient. Visit our sprayers, totes and storage tanks pages.

Application tips

• Apply using stream nozzles so materials are distributed directly on the wheel paths.
• Anti-icing is often effective for heavy frosts.
• Apply chemicals early in frost conditions or light freezing drizzle.
• When conditions could produce frost or black ice, apply on selected sections of the roadway (e.g., bridge decks). Consider spot applications on hills, curves, and intersections.
• When possible, apply material during low-traffic periods.
• Do not apply chemicals under excessively windy situations.
• Reapplication may not be necessary.

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Sources

*University of New Hampshire (pdf) - http://www.t2.unh.edu/fall07/prepare_win_ops.pdf

*Ontario Ministry of Transportation (pdf) - http://www.ogra.org/lib/db2file.asp?fileid=13920

*Road Talk, the digest of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, a copy of which can be found HERE.

** Federal Highway Administration, Manual of Practice for an Effective Anti-icing Program: A Guide For Highway Winter Maintenance Personnel, retrieved from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/mopeap/mop0296a.htm, December, 2009.