1margd
A Quebec entrepreneur is testing wood chips treated with magnesium chloride as a substitute for road salt:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/rosemere-wood-chips-1.4499146.
He says that it works better at lower temps than salt--wonder how well around freezing? (In w Canda, sand is used at lower temps.) Wood chips are more persistent than salt, so fewer applications. Is MgCl treatment safer for environment in amounts used?
With arrival of Emerald Ash Borer, there should be lots of wood to chip for the next while... :(
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/rosemere-wood-chips-1.4499146.
He says that it works better at lower temps than salt--wonder how well around freezing? (In w Canda, sand is used at lower temps.) Wood chips are more persistent than salt, so fewer applications. Is MgCl treatment safer for environment in amounts used?
With arrival of Emerald Ash Borer, there should be lots of wood to chip for the next while... :(
2LibraryCin
I'm in Calgary and recently read that we are trying out beet juice. I know I've also read that somewhere else has already been using it (somewhere in Manitoba, maybe?)
4margd
Huh, cheese brine, too, and a volcanic mineral (Wisconsin).
Cheese brine would be salty, but uses a byproduct and, dissolved, probably involves less salt?
Here in the Great Lakes, salt run-off is thought to be more welcoming to exotics transported in ballast water.
Another downside is that more corrosion in ships over-wintering in some harbors. Usually much less compared to ocean-going vessels.
Beet juice and cheese brine: what cities are spreading on streets to replace corrosive road salt
Anna Maria Tremonti | January 26, 2018
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-january-26-2018-1.4504277/bee...
Cheese brine would be salty, but uses a byproduct and, dissolved, probably involves less salt?
Here in the Great Lakes, salt run-off is thought to be more welcoming to exotics transported in ballast water.
Another downside is that more corrosion in ships over-wintering in some harbors. Usually much less compared to ocean-going vessels.
Beet juice and cheese brine: what cities are spreading on streets to replace corrosive road salt
Anna Maria Tremonti | January 26, 2018
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-january-26-2018-1.4504277/bee...
5.Monkey.
I think sand is typically used around these parts, but bags of salt are sold for home use, at least. We rarely get snow, though, so it's not much of a concern here.
6margd
Road Salt: Researchers look at vegetables and juices for alternatives to salt
Kathy Johnson | February 17, 2021
...(Danelle Haake, stream ecologist and director of Illinois RiverWatch) said individual homeowners can help by using sand instead of salt or chemical deicers.
“You can sweep sand up and keep reusing it so you only have to buy one bag for the whole winter,” Haake said.
For more persistent icy spots such as a north-facing set of stairs, Haake recommends using homemade brine. She suggests dissolving salt in water, putting the brine mixture in a spray bottle and spritz areas that are prone to icing.
Haake said using beet juice as a road deicing agent means trading sugar for salt. While sugar may be less toxic to aquatic life, she said high sugar levels lead to other problems. Bacteria use sugar as a food source and strip oxygen from the water. High bacteria levels can lead to a process called deoxygenation, which is lethal to fish and other aquatic life. “So, how do you want to kill them?” ...
And there is another issue with using sugar juice. “Beet juice kinda smells,” said Craig Bryson, senior communications officer for the Oakland County Road Commission in southeast Michigan.
Bryson said the overly sweet odor is less noticeable in rural areas where the roadways are more spread out. But in highly developed urban areas like the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, the smell is more concentrated, he said.
Another concern of using agricultural products like beet juice is the possibility of attracting wildlife to roadways, Bryson said. Although, Haake notes wildlife like deer may already be attracted by road salt.
“Either way you end up with animals being attracted to roadways, which is not something we want,” Haake said.
In the end, (Claire Oswald, a hydrologist and associate professor at Ryerson University) said the best option might be a combination of road salt and beet juice.
...Haake found the “use of brining by city governments resulted in a 45% average reduction of chloride loads conveyed to streams, demonstrating that brining is a highly viable BMP for local municipal operations.”
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/road-salt-reducing-usage-great-lakes-fresh...
Danelle M. Haake and Jason H. Knouft. 2019. Comparison of Contributions to Chloride in Urban Stormwater from Winter Brine and Rock Salt Application. Environ. Sci. Technol. September 18, 2019, 53, 20, 11888–11895 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b02864 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b02864
Kathy Johnson | February 17, 2021
...(Danelle Haake, stream ecologist and director of Illinois RiverWatch) said individual homeowners can help by using sand instead of salt or chemical deicers.
“You can sweep sand up and keep reusing it so you only have to buy one bag for the whole winter,” Haake said.
For more persistent icy spots such as a north-facing set of stairs, Haake recommends using homemade brine. She suggests dissolving salt in water, putting the brine mixture in a spray bottle and spritz areas that are prone to icing.
Haake said using beet juice as a road deicing agent means trading sugar for salt. While sugar may be less toxic to aquatic life, she said high sugar levels lead to other problems. Bacteria use sugar as a food source and strip oxygen from the water. High bacteria levels can lead to a process called deoxygenation, which is lethal to fish and other aquatic life. “So, how do you want to kill them?” ...
And there is another issue with using sugar juice. “Beet juice kinda smells,” said Craig Bryson, senior communications officer for the Oakland County Road Commission in southeast Michigan.
Bryson said the overly sweet odor is less noticeable in rural areas where the roadways are more spread out. But in highly developed urban areas like the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, the smell is more concentrated, he said.
Another concern of using agricultural products like beet juice is the possibility of attracting wildlife to roadways, Bryson said. Although, Haake notes wildlife like deer may already be attracted by road salt.
“Either way you end up with animals being attracted to roadways, which is not something we want,” Haake said.
In the end, (Claire Oswald, a hydrologist and associate professor at Ryerson University) said the best option might be a combination of road salt and beet juice.
...Haake found the “use of brining by city governments resulted in a 45% average reduction of chloride loads conveyed to streams, demonstrating that brining is a highly viable BMP for local municipal operations.”
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/road-salt-reducing-usage-great-lakes-fresh...
Danelle M. Haake and Jason H. Knouft. 2019. Comparison of Contributions to Chloride in Urban Stormwater from Winter Brine and Rock Salt Application. Environ. Sci. Technol. September 18, 2019, 53, 20, 11888–11895 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b02864 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b02864
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