CrazyNeutrino said:
Scientists are developing road surfaces that can de-ice themselves
If you drive in places where the temperature drops below freezing on a regular basis, you’ll know all about the danger of icy roads – a danger that’s not always easy to accurately predict or compensate for. In an effort to make wintry motoring easier for the average driver, scientists in Turkey have been working on a new surface material that could effectively de-ice itself.
more…
“Starting with a salt potassium formate, the researchers mixed in a styrene-butadiene-styrene polymer and added the mixture to bitumen. When tested in the lab, it “significantly” delayed ice formation when compared with a regular road surface, they report, while at the same time remaining just as sturdy as unmodified bitumen. The new composite was able to release de-icing salt over a period of two months, but the effects could last even longer. With the salt-polymer composite spread out evenly through the asphalt, the pressure of cars and trucks wearing away the road would slowly release the mixture and keep the surface ice-free – perhaps even for several year.”
Interesting. Let’s see if anyone adopts it. The current use of de-icing salts on roads in the northern hemisphere is considered by some to be a major environmental disaster.