Contribution of applied chemistry to maintaining Russian highway infrastructure in winter

The road maintenance key objective is to increase the wheel–road adhesion factor in the autumn and winter periods and, at the same time, preserve the quality of the bituminous concrete surface. With this aim in mind, chemical research institutions created anti-icing chemicals (AICs) that are used by highway services. The key physicоchemical index of AIC quality is its melting salts content. The melting salts used are calcium chloride, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, or sodium formate. When the same pellet comprises all the required components in needed proportions, an anti-icing pelleted compound is best suited to serve the purpose of road maintenance in winter. Due to exothermal dilution of CaCl2, the freezing point goes down to–20°C, and NaCl dissolution rate and ice-melting rate rise. The pellets penetrate deeply into ice right to the road surface and the solution breaks the ice-to-pavement bond, making it much easier to remove ice and snow.