A comparison study of performance and environmental impacts of chloride-based deicers and eco-label certified deicers in South Korea

The widespread use of pre-wetted salts like sodium chloride (NaCl) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) is considered to be a primary cause of the deterioration of concrete structures and environmental damage. For this reason, the National Assembly and environmental protection groups of South Korea have continued to raise the need of using eco-label certified deicers. Despite higher prices, however, snow melting performance and eco-friendliness of eco-label certified deicers are reported to be lower than pre-wetted salts on actual roadways. In this study, therefore, hazardous contaminants, ice melting performance, and impacts on steel and concrete were assessed by eco-labeled product type in order to apply eco-labeled alternatives to the chloride-based deicers. In addition, field tests were performed on snow-covered actual roads to compare and analyze snow melting performance of each of the deicers. The test results indicated that most of the eco-label deicer products meet the metal corrosion, concrete freeze-thaw, and environmental requirements. In ice-melting lab tests, the solid eco-label products showed lower levels of performance than deicer salt or salt reagent. In contrast, good ice melting performance was observed in most of the liquid eco-label deicers. It seems that given the nature of experimental methods, the properties of the liquid types contributed to these results. On actual snow-covered road, the pre-wetted salt mixture showed better melting performance than eco-label deicers. However, pre-wetted salt provided no melting benefits, when the temperature is extremely low.