Icy roads are dangerous and in most countries salt is used to treat them. Using a lot of salt on the road is not a good idea. The ice melts, but large amounts of sodium chloride destroy the vehicle body and are also a danger to nature. Too much salt will cause many common plants to die and only the most resistant weeds will survive. Of course, salt also damages water resources. Salt on the roads also increases the risk of clashes with deer who go licking salty roads. In some countries, there has been a high decrease in beetles and fish due to excessive salt use.
The use of sugar beet extract has a great effect
In many US states, beet juice is actively used instead of salt. Beet-based smelting products are of very high quality and, in addition, reduce the burden on the infrastructure and the environment. It is an extract from sugar beet in combination with chlorides. This solution is even more effective at melting ice, and the advantage is that sugar beet is a crop that is grown in many countries around the world. The salt works in such a way that a higher temperature than normal is required to freeze the water. The salt molecules intersperse with the water molecules, making it harder for the latter to come together in the molecular crystal that constitutes ice.
The sugar molecules from the beet juice have a similar effect, which means that if beet sugar is added to the 20 percent salt solution and sprayed on ice, the melting point of the ice will be even lower than 15 degrees F. The use just of the salt is inappropriate solution. This process becomes more and more effective as the salt concentration becomes higher. For example, a 10 percent salt solution freezes at 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 degrees Celcius), and a 20 percent solution freezes at 2 degrees F (-16 degrees C).
It is always better to use less salt
Some states do not want to use organic defrosters because they can increase the amount of bacteria in water sources. If salt is used, only the necessary amount should be used. In many cases, more salt is used than is needed. Some countries use millions of tons of salt a year on frozen roads. Salt is therefore wasted and nature and infrastructure suffer. If only salt is used, a better solution is to dissolve the salt in water and spray the frozen roads with saline. The effect will be the same and less salt will be consumed.
Source:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/more-cities-make-the-switch-from-polluting-salt-to-sugar-beets-to-beat-icy-roads/
https://www.inverse.com/article/39632-beet-juice-melt-snow-ice
