Asphalt with ice protection

2023: Product Announcement

In mid-February 2023, a group of Chinese researchers from Hebei University of Science and Technology announced the creation of an asphalt surface on which ice does not form in the winter. Such material will significantly increase road safety.

Currently, chloride-based salts are scattered on roads to melt ice. However, they can harm the environment when they drain off asphalt and enter nearby bodies of water. In addition, such mixtures can worsen the condition of the roadway itself, and they have to be applied many times during the cold season. These salts also contribute to the rust of cars, which affects motorists.

Asphalt developed, on which ice does not form in winter

Chinese scientists decided to eliminate all these shortcomings by creating a salt based on acetate without chloride content. Such a mixture is less harmful to the environment and metals, and also effectively acts at lower temperatures. The researchers mixed the salt with surfactants, silica, sodium bicarbonate and blast furnace slag, resulting in a fine fraction powder. The particles of this powder were then coated with a polymer solution to obtain microcapsules. After that, scientists replaced part of the mineral filler in the usual asphalt mixture with these capsules.

When testing a special asphalt pavement at the motorway exit, it turned out that it continuously contributes to the melting of falling snow. Moreover, the freezing point of the water dropped from 0 to minus 21 degrees Celsius. Based on the experiments carried out, the researchers calculated that a road plate made of a new material with a thickness of 5 cm will be able to release salt capsules within seven to eight years, protecting the road from the formation of ice and snow crust.^[1]

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