A brine machine comprises a salt hopper, a source of water for wetting salt in the salt hopper, a brine hopper positioned in side-by-side relation relative to the salt hopper, a filter providing fluid communication between the salt hopper and the brine hopper, a generally horizontal auger positioned in a base of the salt hopper, and an upwardly directed lift auger having a first end in operable association with an end of the horizontal auger and a second discharge end positioned above a level of brine in the brine hopper. The augers convey solid material from the base of the salt hopper and discharge the material from the machine.

A new snow removal agent, which is developed in the present invention, has about 70% snow removal ability compared to that of calcium chloride (CaCl2). Therefore, as experimental materials, magnesium chloride (MgCl2), citric acid, sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), and sodium acetate (CH3COONa) were mixed in a certain ratio in rock salt, and then the new environment-friendly snow removal agent was made through a multi-step experimental procedure. It has already been confirmed through the experiments that it is a snow removal agent which is very excellent in terms of performance and environmental friendliness compared to the snow removal agent currently available in the market.

The present invention pertains to systems, methods, and compositions for liquid phase change, including for active cloud point, e.g., critical solution temperature, adjustment and heating or cooling, e.g., refrigeration, cycles. In some embodiments heat is absorbed, released or both due to phase changes in a liquid system. Advantageously, the phase changes may be controlled by controlling the ingredients or amounts of certain components of the liquid system. Advantages may include lower capital expenditures, lower operating expenses, or both for a diverse and wide range of heating and cooling applications. Such applications include, for example, cooling of data centers, cooled transportation of goods, refrigeration, heat pumps, extractions, ocean thermal energy conversion, and de-icing of roads to name just a few.

A brine machine comprises a salt hopper, a source of water for wetting salt in the salt hopper, a brine hopper positioned in side-by-side relation relative to the salt hopper, a filter providing fluid communication between the salt hopper and the brine hopper, a generally horizontal auger positioned in a base of the salt hopper, and an upwardly directed lift auger having a first end in operable association with an end of the horizontal auger and a second discharge end positioned above a level of brine in the brine hopper. The augers convey solid material from the base of the salt hopper and discharge the material from the machine.

Methods of melting ice using ice-melt compositions including calcium chloride coated with a lignosulfonate material are disclosed. The ice-melt compositions can be useful as ice-melt products with improved safety. A method can include applying an ice-melt composition to ice, the ice-melt composition comprising coated particles. Each coated particle can include a core comprising calcium chloride and a coating at least partially surrounding the core, the coating comprising a lignosulfonate material.

An ice melting compositions are formed into balls or other shapes. These balls, when thrown, impact the ground and are configured to provide approximately four (4) feet of dispersion spread. The balls are formed by pressure, bonded with urea, brine, or water, or built on a lattice.

Provided is an ecofriendly snow removal composition using a porous structure of calcium carbonate obtained by removing proteins from starfish to adsorb chlorine ions. The ecofriendly snow removal composition uses a starfish-derived porous structure to adsorb the chlorine ions contained in the snow removal composition, so it can minimize the effects of the chlorine ions on the corrosion on roads, facilities, vehicle bodies, etc. to reduce the environmental contamination in roadside trees, rivers, etc. and also display an equivalent deicing performance to the conventional snow removal composition using calcium carbonate. Further, the novel snow removal composition using starfish are ecofriendly and beneficial in the aspect of cost, as it utilizes starfish that are adversely affecting the ecosystem and difficult to dispose of.

The invention relates generally to a mixing system for mixing a dry material with a liquid. The mixing system includes a supply of dry material and a supply of liquid. An infinitely variable metering device meters the dry material into the liquid. A sensor senses the ratio of dry material to liquid. The sensor is operatively connected to the metering device to control the metering device to obtain a desired ratio of dry material to liquid. The dry material is dispensed volumetrically by volume of liquid to form the desired ratio of dry material to liquid.

A deicer composition is disclosed. The deicer composition may comprise water, a metal chloride salt, and a biopolymer composition derived from wheat straw, alfalfa, or other cereal grain straws. The biopolymer composition may include inorganic material and a copolymer comprised of lignin and polysaccharides. The biopolymer composition may have an average molecular weight of between 3500 and 5500 Daltons. The metal chloride salt may be selected from magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, and sodium chloride.

A chloride-free composition and product comprising wood chips and a chloride-free de-icing agent is provided. The wood chips are selected for anti-skid properties and the de-icing agent is selected in the form of an agri-food residue for a deicing action resulting from a lowering of the freezing temperature of an impregnation solution, the woods chips being impregnated with the impregnation solution.