Brine & PreWet Salt SpreadingWhat is Brine?
Standard brine is a simple mixture of water and NaCL salt. A pure or eutectic NaCl salt brine is 23.3% salt concentration by weight. A eutectic salt brine is capable of being applied at temperatures as low as -21°C without freezing. For lower temperature other salts such as Calcium Chloride CaCl capable of temperatures as low as -51°C can also be used What is PreWet Spreading Application? Pre-wetting salt is where brine liquid is used to wet the salt as it hits the spinner on the back of the Spreading Vehicle before it goes out on teh road surface. Pre-wet salt is already in partial solution and therefore reacts immediately upon impact with the road. As a result, it de-ices quicker than dry salting. By replacing a portion of the salt with brine, there is a saving made on material purchase that can have large economic, quality and environmental benefits to the Winter Service. Pre-wetting reduces how much salt is spread by up to 30% and the road surface and surrounding areas are less susceptible to salts corrosive nature. It’s that effective that in most winter conditions, the National Winter Service Research Group Guidelines recommend using pre-wet salt at a reduced spread rate than is needed from dry salt improved savings while stll providing better effectiveness |
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