Is it good to spread salt when it snows?

Generally, salt is not applied if the snow can be cleared away; salt is used to speed up the melting of the snow

But once it becomes saline, the saltwater will seep into the surrounding soil, contaminating it. Saltwater splashing on the road can also cause corrosion and damage to vehicles that pass by.

After sprinkling salt, the road gets very dirty and dark

It deteriorates quickly; the snow and cement mix together, and with vehicles passing over it repeatedly, it gets very dirty

After adding salt, snow water will not freeze, as it lowers its freezing point.

Salt is spread on the snow to lower its freezing point and facilitate its melting. The chemical formula for salt is NaCl; chloride ions can corrode almost any material, including cement surfaces. Don’t you see that some cement surfaces on which salt has been applied develop bubbles? That’s the effect of chloride ions. So, try not to sprinkle salt on the snow.

This post was last edited by zhanbob on 2016-2-15 at 13:35. There are generally two main types of de-icing agents used both domestically and internationally: one type consists of potassium acetate as its main component; such agents are effective at melting snow and cause little corrosion, but they are expensive (over 10,000 yuan per ton), and are typically used in important locations such as airports for snow and ice removal. The other type consists of “chloride salts” as their main component, such as sodium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium chloride; these are commonly referred to as “de-icing salts.” Their advantage is their low cost – only 1/10 of that of potassium acetate-based de-icing agents – but they cause severe corrosion to public infrastructure. The de-icing agents we commonly see fall into this category, with industrial salt, sodium chloride, being the most widely used. “Environmentally friendly” is a relative term; even non-chloride-based de-icing agents cannot truly be called “environmentally friendly” (they merely reduce the impact to some extent). Some literature states: “All products used have varying degrees of impact on the environment, and no de-icing agents that do not cause corrosion and are beneficial to the environment have been found.” ” 　　●The problem with sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride used for de-icing is that they corrode metals. 　　●All de-icing agents damage concrete. Since they lower the freezing point, they increase the number of freeze-thaw cycles, which leads to concrete spalling and accelerates the alkali-aggregate reaction as well as steel corrosion. The combined effect of climate and chlorides leads to corrosion and damage in reinforced concrete bridges. 　　●Chloride-based de-icing agents are most corrosive to concrete and rebar, and bridges and roads are the most vulnerable to damage. 　　●The damage to many urban infrastructure facilities is the result of freeze-thaw cycles and rebar corrosion caused by the use of de-icing salts. Among the bridges in Canada that are 30 years old, 40% need to be repaired or rebuilt due to corrosion caused by de-icing salts. 　　●For deck slabs in the snow zone, concrete cracking occurs after 7–10 years, and structural repairs are required after 20 years. 　　●In the United States, the main causes of damage to parking lots are de-icing salts and moisture. 　　●Reinforcement corrosion caused by chlorides is the main cause of bridge failure. In 1997, out of 581,862 bridges in the U.S. federal highway system, 101,518 were found to be structurally deficient, with repair costs ranging from $78 billion to $112 billion. Due to the significant effectiveness of de-icing salts, their usage increased rather than decreased; in 1990 it was 1.5 times that of 1980. The Ministry of Commerce confirmed that corrosion has a significant economic impact on bridges; the direct costs associated with repairing bridges each year range from $6.43 billion to $10.15 billion, while the indirect losses (such as traffic delays and disruptions to production) are 10 times higher than the direct costs. 　　●In 1972, the UK built 11 bridges on a highway; however, within a few years of their completion, cracks appeared in the concrete along the rebar. By 1987, the cost incurred over 15 years to maintain these 11 bridges had amounted to 1.6 times the amount spent on building them. 　　Measures to address the negative effects of chloride-based de-icing agents: For the problem of snow melting in cities during winter, the current environmentally friendly approaches in Europe and the United States involve, after mechanical snow removal, spreading materials such as charcoal slag, coarse sand, and tree debris on roads to prevent slipping. The dark color of these materials helps absorb solar heat, thereby raising the surface temperature and aiding in snow melting. The used charcoal slag and tree debris can be placed in the green spaces along the roads without causing any pollution. On roads where de-icing agents are truly necessary, it is first necessary to remove most of the snow from the surface using snowplows, after which a small amount of de-icing agent is applied to prevent freezing. Additionally, heat from the ground surface, solar radiation, and the heat generated by vehicles is utilized to help melt the snow. To prevent the saline water resulting from snow melting from seeping into the ground or contaminating surface water, the UK has adopted a method of collecting this saline water; special pipes are installed beside urban roads and bridges to collect this water, which is then sent to wastewater treatment plants for processing before being reused – an approach that is worth considering. To reduce the corrosive damage caused by chloride salts, for municipal infrastructure construction, it is important to use high-performance concrete to enhance its water resistance. It is also advisable to use corrosion-resistant rebar or apply rust inhibitors to it. Moreover, waterproof coatings should be applied to the exterior of buildings. As for protecting plants, one solution is to use salt-tolerant plants along roads where de-icing agents are used, while another approach is to cover trees and greenery during the snowy season to prevent contact with the de-icing agents. Developing inexpensive, harmless, and efficient environmentally friendly de-icing agents is an urgent task. For example, adding corrosion inhibitors to de-icing salts is one option; however, such inhibitors are usually sulfonates and can only be used on reinforced concrete bridges, not on non-bridge surfaces. Moreover, if they seep into the soil, they can contaminate groundwater, so this approach is not environmentally friendly either. Among organic substances, alcohol is relatively inexpensive and effective at melting snow, without damaging plants or corroding steel. However, its high cost makes it difficult to widely use it. Therefore, research and development of new, inexpensive, and harmless environmentally friendly de-icing agents remains a significant challenge

It’s not good; whether it’s salt or other types of de-icing agents, they all pollute the soil. Moreover, if the snow doesn’t get cleared away in time, the ground becomes very dirty. And once snowwater gets on clothes, it’s difficult to clean it off