Alternatives to road salt? They’re out there, but it costs about the same as chemistry

As deep freeze continues across southwestern Ontario, municipalities are dealing with it acute shortage of road saltThere is a renewed focus on finding different ways to melt ice on roads.

This is something that researchers at Western University are investigating in a study expected to begin in 2022. They are hoping to release data from the study this summer.

The research is looking at nine different substances, each testing their ability to melt road ice under different conditions.

Christopher Power, an assistant professor who worked on the study, said sodium chloride (also known as rock salt) has become a favorite for Ontario municipalities. Price is a big reason.

“It is very abundant and easy to access, so the main thing is that it is cheap, especially for the quantities that every municipality needs,” he said.

Salt comes at an environmental cost

Power said rock salt is an effective way to remove snow from roads. It works to reduce The freezing temperature of water, which melts existing ice and makes it difficult for new ice to form.

but salt also comes with it Well-documented downsides. It is corrosive, which can shorten the lifespan of any metal on or near the road, including bridges, guardrails and vehicles.

It also has an environmental cost. Most of the salt spread on roads runs off into rivers, streams, and the Great Lakes. experts Marked “acute” salinization The Great Lakes have been considered a significant threat to the environment.

“At the rates we are seeing, our Great Lakes could start to look like salt water and that will have a negative impact on freshwater ecosystems,” Power said.

Additionally, Power said the effectiveness of rock salt begins to diminish at -15 degrees Celsius.

Some of the alternative ice melting substances that Western is studying are already being used to melt ice in various applications, such as sodium acetate and beet juice.

Part of the study involved blocking off areas of Western University’s campus and allowing ground crews to use various substances to clear snow.

Power said that phase of the study is now complete, and he and other researchers are now busy compiling its data, including each substance’s melting ability and level of corrosion.

Power said there is no clear winner right now as to which sodium chloride alternative is best.

He also said that whichever substance is found to be most effective in the study will not automatically begin use by road crews after the next winter storm.

The low price of rock salt is a major reason for municipalities under constant budget pressure, Power does not believe rock salt will be completely phased out any time soon.

“For widespread adoption, economics will always come into play,” he said.

However, he suggested that sodium chloride could be supplemented with other, less corrosive substances by municipal road crews, for example, near bridges or water bodies.

A more targeted approach to salt use is to have some Many municipalities have started adopting it.

Facing a salt shortage this winter, the City of London is adding another substance to the road-cleaning mix.

Joel Gillard, London Road Operations Division Manager, Said the city plans to loosen up salt distribution and plow more frequently.

“When we get that deep freeze, we’re going to turn into a sand-salt mix,” Gillard told CBC News. “Salt, even with our liquid brine solution, is not able to melt snow and ice at this temperature.”