The Facts About Calcium Chloride

Calcium chloride (CaCl2) is one of nature's uncommon wonders. It's a specialty salt with unique properties that improves driving and pedestrian safety, suppresses dust from the air we breathe, and enhances the performance of products and processes that contribute to the supply of energy, food, and other essentials of life.

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OxyChem's calcium chloride is refined from natural brines found in sandstone formations beneath the earth in a non-synthetic process, avoiding the need for reactions with chemicals used in other CaCl2 manufacturing processes.

The Magic of Moisture and Heat

Calcium chloride has three unique and highly effective performance properties:

1. Hygroscopic ' attracts moisture from its surroundings.
2. Deliquescent ' absorbs enough moisture to convert to liquid brine from solid form.
3. Exothermic ' releases heat when its solid form is dissolved in water.

Calcium chloride is an exceptional ice melter because it quickly and easily dissolves into a brine solution, while releasing heat to speed up the ice melting process. It is also a highly effective dust suppressant and stabilizing agent in unpaved roads since it attracts water from the air binding gravel particles together.

Calcium Chloride for Melting Ice

Effective ice melting depends on selecting a deicer capable of melting ice quickly and efficiently under winter temperature conditions typical in your area, and then applying it properly. Several performance characteristics should guide the selection of an ice melter, but two are particularly important:

• Will the deicer be effective across all temperatures you are likely to experience?
• How quickly will the deicer melt ice to minimize pedestrian exposure to potentially dangerous conditions?

Superior Temperature Performance

When the goal is keeping sidewalks safe under all conditions, calcium chloride stands apart from other options as it maintains ice melting power down to -25°F (-32°C). In contrast, other deicers like rock salt, potassium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate begin losing effectiveness between 25°F (-4°C) and 0°F (-18°C). 

Advanced Melting Speed

Calcium chloride's hygroscopic properties means that it melts ice faster than other deicers. Calcium chloride attracts moisture from the surface and the surrounding air, forming an ice-melting brine faster that lowers the freezing point of water and gives melting action a faster start. 

While most other deicers depend on their surroundings for heat, calcium chloride generates heat as it dissolves to form ice melting brine. This heat release is especially important during cold weather when other deicers lose effectiveness.

Shape Matters

Round-shaped ice melters like PELADOW® Calcium Chloride Pellets can bore through ice quickly to penetrate and break ice's bond with underlying pavement. 

Flat or crystal-shaped ice melters like DOWFLAKE® Xtra or COMBOTHERM® spread out over the surface of ice as they dissolve.

Better than Blends

Avoid being misled by performance claims touted by blends that are little more than attractively packaged rock salt containing insignificant amounts of higher-performance ice melter. Always ask for a formal statement from the manufacturer or distributor identifying the precise product ingredients by percentage. In blends containing calcium chloride and rock salt, look for at least 20% calcium chloride content to see an appreciable increase in performance over rock salt alone.

Compared to Magnesium Chloride

PELADOW® Calcium Chloride Pellets can melt more snow and ice with LESS TIME, LESS COST and LESS WASTE.

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Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride are both salt compounds, solids at room temperature, highly soluble in water, and used for melting snow and ice. But there are important performance differences that should be considered when choosing between the two.

Calcium Chloride for Dust Control

Effective dust prevention measures are essential to preserving the drivability and durability of unpaved roads, minimizing impact on the natural environment, and protecting the health, safety, property, and quality of life of those who live on, work near, or travel on gravel roads.  

Calcium chloride is a hygroscopic salt that draws moisture from the air to form a solution in road gravel that keeps road surfaces constantly damp'even in hot, dry conditions. The moisture helps to bind particles together to create a hard and compact road surface. Because it penetrates several inches into the road base, calcium chloride contributes to overall road surface stability. It also depresses the freezing point of the moisture in the road surface to help minimize frost heave damage in the winter.

Compared to Magnesium Chloride and Mineral Well Brines

Three frequently used dust suppressants are calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and mineral well brines. All contain hygroscopic materials that draw moisture from the air providing extended dust suppression by forming a solution in road gravel keeping road surfaces constantly damp. However, the performance differences should be noted and considered before choosing which to use.

Why calcium chloride?

Calcium chloride is highly effective, and one of the most hygroscopic materials, when it comes to absorbing moisture from the surrounding air.

Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound ' a salt with the chemical formula CaCl2. It is white flakes or pellets at room temperature, and is highly soluble in water. Calcium chloride desiccants work well over a temperature range from freezing point up to 80 °C or more. Calcium chloride is the active compound in all Absortech products.

Calcium chloride is often used for de-icing or dust control on gravel roads, in food or as the absorbing agent in desiccants. In much of the world, calcium chloride is derived from limestone as a by-product of the Solvay process. Calcium chloride can also be obtained from brine purification.

Calcium chloride is not hazardous to the environment but classified as H319 according to GHS (causes serious eye irritation).

Calcium chloride is available in different concentrations and is often specified as 74-77% or 94-97% depending on the purity level. The higher the concentration, the better the absorption capacity. Meaning a desiccant with 94-97% CaCl2 has the ability to absorb more moisture than 74-77% CaCl2.

Absortech uses calcium chloride as the absorbing agent in our desiccants due to its high efficiency compared to other types of desiccants, such as silica gel and clay desiccants.

Superior by nature

Calcium chloride (CaCl2) absorbs moisture from the air effectively. It can attract several times its own weight in water, dissolving into a liquid brine if the air is humid enough and the temperature is high enough. The liquid brine is either trapped inside a collector or mixed with a modified starch and thereby formed as a gel inside its packaging.

Absorption capacity

Calcium chloride desiccant absorbs more moisture when the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air is higher. And its absorption increases exponentially as RH rises, which is a remarkable result compared to other desiccants like silica gel and clay.

The sustainable option

Other desiccants may include toxic substances. For example, silica gel with indicators, can include the toxic substance cobalt. Whereas calcium chloride is a natural product with no negative affect on the environment. But the main environmental advantage of using calcium chloride desiccants compared to other types of desiccants is, of course, that these desiccants are much more efficient and thereby the amount and weight of desiccants used for the same protection is much lower. By choosing the most efficient desiccants, huge savings can be made on plastic, transport and the CO2 footprint as a result. And cutting down on CO2 is one of the most important challenges that we have for the future.