SALT ECONOMIES

This article describes a very simple and inexpensive system for spreading prewetted salt on icy roads, which has been developed by transport engineering, a small specialist winter road maintenance equipment manufacturer in accrington, lancashire. This system can potentially reduce the uk's 30 million annual road salt bill by millions of pounds. At present, an average of about 1.5 million tons of salt per annum is placed on British roads during very cold weather, and much of it is blown away and wasted because of inefficient spreading techniques. Transport engineering claims that its new method reduces salt wastage by more than 50%, and it is anticipating that prewetting will be as successful in the UK as it has already been on the continent of Europe; individual local authorities could halve their salt cost. The new technique prewets dry salt, previously stored in covered silos, with a calcium chloride solution spray at the gritter's discharging spinner. As a result, salt loss is reduced, de-icing is more rapid with the use of less salt, and the additive improves the adhesion of the salt to the road, considerably reducing its loss from wind and eddy currents. The equipment package is easy to fit to body gritters, and works best when attached to existing road speed related spreaders. (TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03077683
• Corporate Authors:

  Thomas Telford Limited

  London,   United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • BYLES, R
• Publication Date: 1988-8-18

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 24-25
• Serial:
  • NEW CIVIL ENGINEER
  • Issue Number: 803
  • Publisher: EMAP CONSTRUCT LIMITED
  • ISSN: 0307-7683

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adhesion; Costs; Deicing chemicals; Equipment; Loss and damage; Methodology; Spreading; Winter maintenance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Decreases
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 5942: Adhesion; 224: Cost; 9009: Decrease; 2598: Deicing; 3674: Equipment; 9040: Loss; 9102: Method; 3602: Spreading; 8119: United Kingdom; 2593: Winter maintenance
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00493244
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: May 31 1990 12:00AM