Is brine worse than salt

[GeekOKent]

Looks like they are going to be using grime liquid in some parts of the south east, not just salt this winter.

How much worse is this for cars?

 

[fbnss]

Is that brine?

 

[SteveJB]

Thats one way to get rid of rap music should be enough to do a few roads

 

[MarkW]

Brine and urea replaced salt a long time ago for A roads and motorways. Salt usually left as reserves for extreme weather.

Being liquid is probably marginally worse but then salt dissolves with water so maybe not.

 

[GeekOKent]

Is that brine?

It should. Auto correct strikes again.

 

[GeekOKent]

Brine and urea replaced salt a long time ago for A roads and motorways. Salt usually left as reserves for extreme weather.

Being liquid is probably marginally worse but then salt dissolves with water so maybe not.

When you say long time ago, seems like it was trialed in Scotland last year in very small numbers and being used now for the first time across the UK this year

Ref https://mobile.twitter.com/GrittingKent/status/930174466780475392

 

[MarkW]

When I was working for a Highways Agency contractor doing winter service we were using it in 2010

 

[SteveJB]

Just another thing to speed up the tin worm on the chassis and bodywork and less time enjoying what we have got and we pay road tax fuel duty and vat but at least we will get to update our REBUILD PROJECTS here

 

[chapel gate]

Salt wants banning on the roads. Isn't there some environmental consequence to its use? That normally gets stuff banned..

 

[SteveJB]

On motorways and dual carrigeways with a grassed central reservations they have found coastal plants like sea thrift and others growing where the salt runs off and provides a suitable habitat for them to grow and thrive

 

[clivehorridge]

The simple answer is brine is salt, nothing more or less, in a strong concentration dissolved in water.

There are other chemicals that assist melting ice in sub-zero temps, Magnesium Chloride and Calcium Chloride can melt ice at lower temperatures than salt, but I'm not sure that they're used in the UK.

This is an American factsheet from the State of Virginia which may be more informative.

 

[chapel gate]

On motorways and dual carrigeways with a grassed central reservations they have found coastal plants like sea thrift and others growing where the salt runs off and provides a suitable habitat for them to grow and thrive

Oh, no banning then. Its a good thing.

turns out theres well over 200 years worth of the stuff in the uk too..

 

[Dave]

As Clive says, there can be other stuff added to the salt. Here they call it salt , when in fact its a chemical concoction thats designed to work at lower temps, plus hang around longer on the road.Because its kind of sticky, it also helps reduce dust from the studded tyres ripping the road surface.

But its very nasty, corrosive stuff, thats just eats everything. What starts as a little surface rust, within a year is wet crusty rust. And because its sticky, it doesnt get washed away by road water or rain.

 

[StarCruiser]

As Clive says, there can be other stuff added to the salt. Here they call it salt , when in fact its a chemical concoction thats designed to work at lower temps, plus hang around longer on the road.Because its kind of sticky, it also helps reduce dust from the studded tyres ripping the road surface.

But its very nasty, corrosive stuff, thats just eats everything. What starts as a little surface rust, within a year is wet crusty rust. And because its sticky, it doesnt get washed away by road water or rain.

I wonder if it's designed and promoted by the vehicle industry? Or am I being cynical here?

 

[StarCruiser]

I would look on brine as being far more likely to get to places rock salt doesn't and have no traction aiding properties like rock salt grit does (or so we are led to believe). I can only see that it's easier to spread from plastic tanks that don't have to be hosed out by the driver at the end of his shift in the freezing cold.

 

[frank rabbets]

Brine is NaCl disloved in water. Salt is solid NaCl so corrosion wise both are equally bad. Brine may be easier to apply so perhaps that is the reason for using it.

As an aside I note that road chippings are finer and therefore there are less broken windscreens about.

 

[Dave]

But thats assuming that what they call brine is actually brine. Its easier to say brine as it is being applied as a liquid, and people associate it with the traditional salt. When in fact it may be a chemical mix which is much more corrosive than salt ( or genuine brine).

 

[MarkW]

Iirc it’s normally applied before freezing to prevent ice rather than to melt ice

 

[StarCruiser]

Iirc it’s normally applied before freezing to prevent ice rather than to melt ice

As is the grit type salt.

 

[clivehorridge]

Iirc it’s normally applied before freezing to prevent ice rather than to melt ice

Ideally, treatment is applied as a multi-stage process, Anti Icing, Pre-Treatment, Pre-Wetting and De-Icing, as described in the American factsheet from the State of Virginia I referred to in post #11 above.

While accepting all the criticisms of salt attack on your truck, its my view that owners generally don’t take anywhere near enough care to wash their vehicles more often and more thoroughly during winter periods.

There’s nowhere that uses more salt in the winter than Romania, and my 80 has been exposed to 22 winters this year, and the rust on it is way less than you’d imagine. It was previously owned by the Canadian Embassy in Bucharest, and they must have cared for it well. The previous owner didn’t but I’ve made a point of using a jet-wash on it at least once a week and paying close attention to the underside and arches and the like.