Scientists Have Made A Salty Road That Never Ices Over

Big trucks pouring salt over slippery roads could be a thing of the past thanks to Turkish scientists who have created a road that rids itself of ice
Scientists Have Made A Salty Road That Never Ices Over

If you love your car, there’s nothing worse than driving in icy conditions. There’s that constant threat of black ice just waiting to deposit you in a hedge, while huge trucks roam the streets chucking car-destroying ice on the road. Thankfully, that could be a thing of the past thanks to some mighty clever scientists.

Researchers at Koc University in Turkey have been working on a new type of road material that is infused with salt that should stop ice forming at all. Currently, local authorities have to pre-empt ice forming on the road, deploying spreaders to throw salt on top of the surface. This can then be dispersed by traffic running over it or rainwater washing it away, nullifying its effect. The new system involves having deicing agents throughout the layers of asphalt, which release over a period of time. It could also improve the state of our highways and byways, as one of the biggest causes of cracks and potholes is water in the road freezing and expanding.

Scientists Have Made A Salty Road That Never Ices Over

Scientists have embedded salt potassium formate into bitumen - one of the components of asphalt - as it is an environmentally friendly deicing material. They have also added a water-repelling polymer called styrene-butadiene-styrene, which should help stop water settling and further reduce the chances of ice forming on the road.

While driving in sub-zero conditions would certainly be safer with this material, the fact of the matter is that the underside of our cars will still be assaulted by corrosive salt. This is a great solution for everyday driving, but we’re still waiting on something that means we don’t have to garage our fun car during winter!

Source: Digital Trends

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Comments

Anonymous

Y no Solar Freaking Roadways? ;) :p

12/29/2015 - 14:13 |
3 | 0
Dzonny the e36 maniaq

Road, why you so salty?

12/29/2015 - 14:14 |
0 | 0
Tuna

Turkey ftw :)

12/29/2015 - 14:14 |
0 | 0
SomeRandomCarGuy

Subaru owners be like

12/29/2015 - 14:22 |
83 | 0

To the top with you… xD

12/29/2015 - 14:39 |
1 | 0

More like any 4wd or rwd car owner be like.

12/29/2015 - 15:14 |
10 | 1
kgga

How about they find a way to not let ice get on roads using something that doesn’t rust the sh!t out of your car?

12/29/2015 - 14:29 |
31 | 0
Oh Henry

In reply to by kgga

You mean like beet juice?

12/29/2015 - 17:34 |
0 | 0
Stefan 9

In reply to by kgga

In the nordic countries (Europe) there are roads with heated wires that keep the road warm all the time preventing ice. (snowmelt system)

12/29/2015 - 18:23 |
8 | 2
Anonymous

And what are permanently salty roads going to do to classic cars? and Chrome??

12/29/2015 - 14:31 |
7 | 0
Anonymous

My first thought was that if they use this asphalt, our cars will suffer from salt all year round, not just in the winter months. Every time it will rain there will be salt water on the road which will corrode the s**t out of our cars.

12/29/2015 - 14:31 |
21 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Exactly my thoughts too. Although there would be less stone chips from driving near gritters.

I’d rather just have heated roads, why can’t we do that?

12/29/2015 - 15:04 |
5 | 0
Anonymous

They have brine roads in the USA that clear themselves of ice and snow.. The roads have groves in them, that run the length of the highway.. When it gets icy, there is a low pressure system that pumps a liquid brine solution in the groves, that clears the highways of ice and snow.. They have existed for the past 25+ years..

12/29/2015 - 14:41 |
4 | 0
Caro

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

This sounds GREAT!
why is this not everywhere

12/29/2015 - 17:02 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

WE NEED THIS IN CANADA!

12/29/2015 - 15:01 |
1 | 0
ramses rizal

Umm..how about rust?

12/29/2015 - 15:17 |
0 | 0