Anti-icing reagents. Description of popular agents, classification, devices used
Winter and early spring is the most traumatic period of the year. That is why it is customary to sprinkle paths with special agents that destroy the ice crust.
Typically, these reagents include environmentally friendly substances: ordinary technical salt (sodium chloride) or chemicals with magnesium or calcium chloride.
How do these chemicals work?
Sodium chloride or other ant i-i substances literally melt the snow cover.
It generates heat when in contact with oxygen, penetrates deep into the ice layer and breaks its internal structure.
To consolidate the effect, crumb, which prevents slipping, is sometimes used. The substance is distributed manually by technology (wagen diagram) or by hand.
It does not freeze at low temperatures and turns the ice into snow crumbs, which are easy to remove from the path.
The benefits of eco-friendly materials
- Usage at temperatures up to 35o C;
- Conformity with the requirements of Gost, TU, GST;
- Effective consumption;
- Long service life (more than a year);
- Fire-fighting effect;
- Minimal toxicity;
- low price.
After treating the street, both adults and children can safely walk around.
It is very important that the purchased preparation contains carbomide or other corrosion inhibitors. Thanks to this substance, the reagent does not corrode metal, does not harm dogs and cats, does not spoil shoes and easily shifts when heated.
Types and types of reagents
Reagents come in different types and are sold in weights ranging from 5 kg to 1 ton. The cheapest are small packages with a reagent that includes the traditional calcium and sodium chloride, as well as corrosion inhibitors.
- Granig;
- Liquids (solution).
Grain-like substances (sprinkles) can be used both after the formation of ice crust on the street, and for ice.
Usually the substance is scattered in the morning or in the evening, when the air temperature is the lowest.
Consumption at temperatures e-10 ° C-40 g/m 2. Granules not only clean the street, but also counteract the freezing of water, i.e. the appearance of new ice crust.
The most popular are detailed reagents: Ecosol, Bischofit, Binord Exist, Geodor, halite based on technical salt and others. For example, they are used by the utilities services of the capital in the winter period.
Advantages: Low price, environmental safety.
Disadvantages: Sometimes the road deteriorates, if you choose cheap antifreeze.
Liquid ones are used less frequently, but their advantages are also high.
The most popular n e-solid reagent: a 28% solution of modified calcium chloride (CCM) and magnesium chloride.
Treating sidewalks and streets with these solutions is more cost-effective, since the consumption rate is 20-40% lower than that of a granular substance.
As a rule, liquid reagents are used not to scatter paths near the house, but in a large area.
Many liquid reagents are not accepted for use in temperatures below e-10 ° C and heavy snowfall. The best-known liquid reagents are: Premium, ESBG, Antilay (based on natural bischofite) and others.
Advantages: economical consumption and possibility to use on a large area
Disadvantages: Short life time (max. 3 hours)
Important: the use of modern reagents is more effective than sprinkling with sand and ordinary salt in the winter.
The consumption of the substance is four times less, and then there is no need to clean the paths of sandy debris.
It is not at all difficult to wash the reagent off the sidewalks, but most often it simply dissolves without a trace.
Spreaders, scoops, containers for reagent
Various tools and technical devices are used to spread the reagent on the street or sidewalk.
If you need to spread a little away from the house, an ordinary ball is sufficient.
The use of liquid reagent on a large street or, for example, in the yard of a large enterprise, business center, is possible only with the help of tank trucks.
Dry granules are also more convenient to scatter in large areas with the help of a cart, special equipment and scattering.
For the distribution of the reagent use:
- spreader (appendage equipment);
- container with loading capacity up to 500 kg (with a window and without a window);
- special performers for pouring liquid substance;
- decks, shovels, buckets;
- Spreader or donor tail.
Spreader is a hopper and rotating mechanism connected with a tractor or other special equipment. Due to rotation, the substance is spread over a distance of 14 to 20 meters.
This is a very effective way of dispersing the reagent for uniform melting. The flow rate of the substance is metered, so it is also an economical way of sprinkling.
Containers are ideal for storing dry reagents at any time of year. They protect the pellets from water and air, and you can use last year’s materials to treat the roads in the new season.
Such boxes are made of reinforced composite material, which reliably protects the reagents not only from damage, but also from stink.
Canisters often do not have to be ordered, since liquid reagents are sold already in ready-made containers. However, if you want to pour it into a more convenient container, you need to order.
For this purpose, it is best to use metal boxes rather than plastic boxes.
Doster Carts hold up to 30 kg of reagent. You can use them to treat a long driveway and sidewalk without having to carry bags of concentrate on you.
The cart is mechanically controlled and does not require connection to electricity or other devices.
Snow bends are removed with large shovels. Once the ice begins to melt under the influence of the chemical mixture, it is gently swept aside or hauled away on the cart.
It is also recommended that the surface be cleared of loose snow before using the reagent. The substance is distributed at the rate of at least 65 milligrams per square meter.
Reagent and salt protectants for shoes, coatings
One of the most serious disadvantages of reagents is damage to shoes, tires and metal products.
To combat this problem, inhibitor additives are used to make bulk and liquid substances safe for others.
The level of inhibitor in each reagent should be at least 6%. They are used not only for de-icing materials, but also to protect concrete or rebar.
Types of inhibiting additives:
- Passivators (create an insoluble film on the surface);
- adsorbents (also by creating a film they prevent corrosion).
Acetates, nitrates, formates and urea are often added to the reagents to protect the metal.
The main type of inhibitor used has an adsorptive effect. If there are too many protective substances in the mixture, it is also bad – the most important de-icing properties are reduced.
Therefore, it is necessary to choose the composition very carefully and pay attention to the predominance of salts of organic fatty acids.
All reagents with protective additives are easy to contaminate and do not leave stains on the shoes and clothing of passers-by. In addition, due to their protective properties, they do not destroy the road, which is then very difficult to repair.
Remember that magnesium and calcium chlorides are the most aggressive compared to metal products. Therefore, if you are planning to spray on a bridge, parking lot or playground that has a lot of metal products, it is better to choose a gentle protection.
The least corrosive activity is observed in the means, whose composition is dominated by formate and sodium chloride.
Salton Expert Spray is also used to protect shoes that protect leather, suede and nabuk from the harmful effects of various substances in the street.
Popular Reagents
Choosing a remedy for your garden or office space, it is worth studying not only the names of the most popular brands on the reagent center, but also all the advantages and disadvantages of such a purchase.
It contains magnesium chloride, made from natural bishop.
Large grains, resembling ice cream, instantly corrode the icy layer of the street.
When encountered on a clean street, it forms a film that prevents ice from forming. Approximate consumption is about 50-70 g/m. SQ.
The effect after the action of the preparation – the melted ice turns into a viscous “mush”, which has to be removed from the street.
Environmentally friendly product because it is made of crystal salt.
At frosts up to 20 C you need 90 grams of the reagent per 1 sq. m. area.
The most popular Ekoroad for streets, sidewalks, products with bishop salt, granite chippings, calcium chloride and other substances.
All formulations, without exception, take effect immediately and contain corrosion inhibitors. On average, up to 70 grams of reagent mass is required per square meter.
The formulation includes sodium chloride and calcium chloride. Consumption is directly dependent on the temperature, but the average is 20 to 70 grams per meter.
There are many types of products: from shampoo for washing from the streets to granules for bridges and elevators.
The composition of the product is multi-component. Bionord is completely soluble in the way and does not harm footwear and the environment.
Consumption standard means (on average up to 65-70 grams/m²).
At 1kv.m. requires about 500 mg. Substances. The composition contains an acetate solution, which copes well with icing.
It is used not only on the streets, but also, for example, on the start and landing tracks of airfields, as the canvas works even at a temperature of d o-58 C.
The product line includes products for hiking trails aqua-pedestrian, reagents for temperatures minus 25 and minus 31, based on bischofite salt.
They are sold in packages of 25 kg to 1 ton.
Can be combined with sprinkling with marble chips. The average consumption is up to 70 grams per sq. m.
Practical to use in a spreader. The composition includes sodium chloride (modified) and calcium chloride granulate.
56-60% of the substance is urea, the rest is calcium nitrate, magnesium. The reagent has a high coefficient of adhesion after removal of ice from the road.
NKMM can be used at temperatures up to 20 C. A reagent similar in effect: Nordway, which is made on an acetate basis.
It is also used for critical facilities.
A very affordable product that can be used in frosts as low as minus 25 C.
At lower temperatures, other reagents must be used. A flow rate of 20-70 grams per meter is sufficient.
There are liquid products under the brand name PGM based on calcium chloride. A 5-liter canister is enough to treat 250 square meters.
You can choose Ecotrich bags if you want to use them at low temperatures (d o-21 s), or Magnesalt or Cayer if you want to use them at 25-35 s.
More expensive preparations have in their composition calcium carbonate, magnesium and other strong preparations, which eat up ice in a large volume.
One hour after sprinkling the preparation, you can clean the tracks from the ice crumbs.
A 25 kg pack is enough for 400 m2. The product contains only calcium chloride.
You can buy branded packages A, B depending on what kind of ice you need to treat with it.
Safe for animals as it contains no chemicals. Rocklt is mainly used at low temperatures (d o 15 s).
It can be used for walkways as well as for farms.
At d o 6 ° C the material consumption is 70 g/m2.
It has excellent anti-corrosive properties and does not harm metal.
It is often used in road works for sprinkling of sidewalk. It is sold in dry granules.
Indications for use
Before ordering a large number of de-icing agents, it is advisable to study reviews about their use on the Internet. Technical characteristics of reagents may be similar, but in each case their action is different.
Good reviews of the reagent Ecoroad, which is used to clear large areas in many regions of the Russian Federation, as well as funds containing calcium chlorides and acetates, magnesium, which are massively used to clear roads in Moscow.
Also popular are such means as “Icemelt”, “Bischofit”, “Binord” and many others.
If we talk about price, it is difficult to find something cheaper than ordinary technical salt, but it has the negative property of corroding shoes and car damage from cars.
Remember that salt tends to build up in the soil, which can damage lawns. It is best to find balanced products with anti-corrosion properties.
You should use them strictly according to the instructions, that is, without excesses and only after the area is cleared of snow.
Classification of ecological reagents
All anti-icing reagents are classified into three areas – the chemical type, type of friction (sand mixes, curbstone, granite crumb) and combined. Their purpose is to prevent the formation of ice on the road surface, which provides a safe environment for vehicles and pedestrians. The most effective de-icing agents are chemical and combined, most of which are salts. The mechanism of action of all anti-icing agents is that the same substances in the composition initiate the reaction of physical and chemical type and thus cause intense transformation of snow and ice into liquid water. Manufacturers and suppliers of de-icing reagents offer a fairly large range, which differs at zero temperature in the negative area. There are also universal mixes. Let’s understand in more detail the types of de-icing reagents so that you can quickly make the right choice.
Types of de-icing materials
Chemical reagents
These anti-icing agents are created in three aggregated conditions – in solid, liquid and immersed state. Their main composition is natural minerals (bischofite, halite, etc.) or industrial processing wastes (sylvinite and carnelite wastes). To reduce reagent consumption, solid PGMs are usually coated with concentrated salt solutions – these are the so-called “wetted salts”. Chemical reagents can be divided into groups according to their composition:
- Acetates (corresponding salts of potassium, calcium, ammonium);
- Chlorides (corresponding salts of sodium, potassium, calcium);
- Urea (ammonium nitrate and urea);
- Nitrates (appropriate magnesium and calcium salts).
How the mechanism of action is created:
- Shifting the freezing point of water into the negative zone or accelerating the transformation of snow and ice into water;
- Destruction of crystal bonds in the structure of ice and snow, after which the thickness of ice and snow on the surface of the street decreases.
What are the requirements for a chemical de-icing agent:
- Must not freeze when used and increase slip on the road surface.
- They should have a minimal environmental impact and not have an aggressive destructive effect on rubber products, asphalt, metal and skin.
Combined type reagents
Combined antifriction-I compounds simultaneously include the properties of chemical and friction reagents. On the one hand, they cause intensive melting of ice (which lowers the temperature of freezing water), on the other hand – give additional roughness to the road surface (increases traction). The composition of such means is normalized – they must have at least 5% of salt in the mass composition, and the most common substance for the production is halite. The main part of such PGM is brudelstein, sand, AGS or slag. The most common substances used in the composition of ant i-i reagents are halite (technical salt), calcium double-headed or a mixture of salt and sand.
Halite
This is one of the most popular environmental reagents. It has a number of advantages, among which are significant efficiency, low price and low environmental impact. This composition works effectively in the temperature range from 0 to minus 30 degrees. It is believed that halite can be used even at – 15 C.
Sand-gravel mixture
In terms of composition, this reagent is a mixture of river sand and technical salt, made in different proportions (from 60:40 to 90:10). The lower the ambient temperature, the more salt should be added to the composition. The advantages of the sand-salt mixture include high efficiency and ease of handling. Such a composition can be applied to the road surface by hand or by mechanized means.
calcium chloride
This de-icing also belongs to the category of stationary. It contains up to 98% calcium dichloride. The advantages of this composition include high binding capacity, the ability to effectively melt snow and ice, and the ability to be used down to minus 34 degrees. Calcium chloride is ideal for use on bridges and other reinforced concrete structures. Our company sells high-quality technical salt at attractive prices. We are ready to deliver any volume of products to our customers. We provide all necessary documents and deliver on time.
