Eco Thaw - The Future of
de-icing and anti-icing
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What does Eco-Thaw bring to the Business?
1.
Because of its corrosion resistance Eco-Thaw reduces the damage
normally associated with dry salt and salt brine to vegetation; road
surfaces; salting equipment and of course the general infrastructure. And
of course this reduces maintenance costs to the end user.
2.
Eco-Thaw has a lower melting point than conventional rock salt and
therefore when applied as an anti-icing agent, it prevents a bond being
formed between the ice and the pavement. Consequently this in turn
reduces the costs of applications per winter.
3.
It has been widely acknowledged that by using Eco-Thaw the residual
amount of treated salt left on the pavement increases greatly and again
this reduces unnecessary application and over salting. Some of our
clients in the UK have reduced their winter maintenance budget by over
one third after one or two seasons.
Eco Thaw - The Future of
de-icing and anti-icing
4.
Another advantage of using Eco-Thaw is the reduction of bounce and scatter. If
using present methods of applying dry salt even at 20 grammes per square metre
there is very little of it left after half an hour or so. However when using Eco-Thaw
treated salt you will notice that the product has a much longer residual effect.
5.
One of the common observations we get from end users is the problem of dry salt
clumping in the stockpile especially when it has any moisture in it. This is caused
by a drop in temperature and when the operators come in to load it they struggle
sometimes with this problem. By using Eco-Thaw that is one problem less to deal
with.
6.
The economics of using Eco-Thaw are usually obvious after as early as one
season when you find that even applying the normal rate of salt, the operators
begin to notice when they go out that there is still a lot of the treated salt on the
carriageways. The amount of savings vary from place to place but in our
experience it generally falls between 30 to 50% after operators and managers
have become accustomed to using it.
Eco Thaw - The Future of
de-icing and anti-icing
7.
One of the generally unknown savings achieved is the cost of
vehicle washing after treating the roads with dry or wet salt. Colin
Charlton of Northumberland County Council estimates by using
Eco-Thaw on his vehicles that he has saved £50,000.00 annually.
This is not a small amount of savings by any standards.
8.
Eco-Thaw is Environmental Agency approved for use on the
Highways Agency Network.
The Following presentation is by Colin Charlton of Northumberland
County
Council in which he gives his observations on using Eco-Thaw.
Eco- Thaw Trial
2003-2004
Eco Thaw Trial 2003-2004
Colin Charlton
Northumberland County Council
Southern Area Highways Operations
Manager
•Highways DLO 14 yrs
•Winter Service Manager
•Contracts Manager
•Operations Manager
•Civil Engineer with
British rail 11 years
before moving to County
in 1990 tel:01434611100
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The County
5200kms.
1800kms treated
30 routes
30,000Tonnes Salt
10 Depots (3 Barns)
•County Stats
•North-Scottish Border
•South –Tyneside
•East – North Sea
•West – Cumbria
•1940 square miles
•Population 308,000
•Highest road length/population ratio in England
•Uses 10 mm Cleveland Salt
•Own DLO workforce, NQ trained
NCC- Highways
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34 dedicated gritters
6 epoc demounts
10 haulage demounts
7 Tractor ploughs
120 Farmers
• 4 Snow Blowers –
• When Times get hard
NCC- Highways
• Eco Thaw Trial
• Mixed 2000 Tonnes of Cleveland
Potash salt at Allendale
• Stored outside
NCC- Highways
•Allendale Based
•Runs 60 miles (route from Allendale
North into Hexham, along Tyne
Valley to Haydon Bridge, South &
East back to Allendale, then up
Valley to Allenheads high ground,
over Coalclough in the South, North
to Carrshiled and return to Allendale
•Treats 49 miles (82%efficient)
NCC- HIghways
• 6cu.m Merc 4x4
• Econ progressive dial
control box (no
adjustment needed on
control bar)
• Prolonged season (mid
October on highground
in South through to Mid
April)
• 600m Fell Tops
• 50m Tyne Valley
NCC – Highways
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Normal Spread 15g/sqm
Reduced to 10g/sqm
Further reduced to 8g/sqm
6.4T – 4.2T – 3.4T
Visual check on route
effectiveness
-physical checks carried out on ground
prove product is working and that
everything is safe and protected for a
travelling public. (see picture at right for
how Eco-Thaw worked to protect
Northumberland)
•Alnwick Castle
NCC- Highways
• Visible wetness on road
• Application where
wanted
• No over spread
• No bounce and scatter as is
normal with dry salt
NCC- Highways
•High exposed ground
•Wind blows application off road
•Eco- Thaw stayed on road
directly after application
•In the past these conditions led to extra
treatment in mornings after night time
precipitation.
•Route was patrolled as a precaution during
trial, and inspectors and agents found route
clear of Ice/Frost
•Hadrian's Wall
NCC- Highways
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Low temps
Low Humidity
Light winds
Hoar Frost
• Possible to precautionary treat network with confidence of
treatment sticking
• This area was also patrolled as a precaution during trial, no extra
treatment was ever required
NCC- Highways
Summary
• Less quantity used
• More useful residual salt
on road
• No clogging up thus
allowing operatives to
complete route without
having to stop to clear
chute
• Salt more effective at
lower temperatures
• No need to clean
equipment after each
application, resulting in a
savings of £50,000 per
annum
2004 - 2005
•Further trials using dry covered salt
2 routes from Haltwhistle - mixture
of high exposed ground and Tyne
Valley
•Grit boxes on newly refurbished
foot bridges
These two bridges are 13 years old.
The one on the right has used treated salt for the
last 7 years. The one on the left has not.