What is Road Salt?
When the winter season arrives, stores stock up bags of salt, which is sprinkled on the roads and sideways to melt the ice. But what is this rock salt, and why is it used to melt ice on the roads?
Road salt is a natural mined mineral form of table salt used in houses. The chemical composition is Sodium Chloride or NaCl. Road salt contains impurities, while the table salt is a purified form of the rock salt. Typically road salt is brown, and machines are used for mining and packing of bulk road salt. Note that other compounds like potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium chloride are chemical salts and are termed as road salts.
Why Does Salt Melt Ice?
Salt can melt snow and ice naturally. Any substance that dissolves in water lowers the freezing temperature. That means sugar can also be used for de-icing, but salt is six times more effective than any other materials. Salt has low molecular weight than sugar and other substances, so salt is used as a de-icing agent.
The freezing point of the water comes down when salt is added, making it more difficult for the water to freeze on the roads. One pound of salt can melt forty-six pounds of ice at a temperature of -1°C. When the temperature gets below 12 °C, the road salt work slows down, and you need to add a de-icing agent.
How Does Road Salt Work?
Adding salt to dry roads will not be useful, the roads should be wet or filled with water for the ice to work on and bring increase the freezing temperature. When there is snow forecasted, a solution made by mixing water and salt is used to pretreat the roads. The solution is called a brine solution, and it prevents the ice from forming on the roads and also reduces the number of trucks needed for spreading the de-icer.
Till date, salt has been an effective de-icing product. This is because, salt is readily available, least expensive, easy to store, easy to spread, does not harm people, and is environmentally friendly. The rate of melting depends on the surrounding air and ground temperatures. Other factors that influence are the particle size of the salt used and the amount of traffic on the roads.
Where to Buy Bulk Road Salt in Ontario?
Using road salt is the most efficient and environmentally sensitive approach to melt ice on the roads and pavements. You need to be ready for the winter with a bulk stock of salt. Are you looking for a bulk salt supplier in Ontario? Canada Salt Group Ltd is the most trusted bulk road supplier in Ontario. For inquiries on bulk road salt supply, Contact or Call at +1 866-321-7258.
