EnviroTech Services Testing Deicers

One of the constant issues within the world of deicing and anti-icing is the quantification of performance data. Sifting through the abundance of data and variables at play when assessing performance can be daunting. 

“Since EnviroTech Services, Inc. (ESI) takes its role as an industry leader seriously, we are constantly looking for ways to advance, not just products themselves, but commensurate testing methods, as well,” says an EnviroTech spokesperson. “Not all companies facilitate facts to back up their claims, making this an important issue within our industry. It is with this in mind that ESI will be engaging in a new series of cutting-edge tests throughout this winter season.”

The intent of these unique tests is to eliminate the former gap between what is said to work according to lab data and what the end user sees in the field. The specifics of these tests are deliberately quantitative enough to take measurements in the field and then correlate the results in the lab. This will determine not only if the product works, but also how well it works.  

Testing equipment was placed the third week of November in partnership with Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the City of Fort Collins and commenced with preliminary snowfall. Due to limited funding, partnerships and testing locations remain restricted; however, affiliation with others such as Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) is still being discussed. 

Divided highways have been chosen as an essential location for the testing trials. One side will contain a controlled commodity 29 percent Magnesium Chloride product application, while an ESI-enhanced product will be enclosed on the other. This procedure will precisely show the benefit of using value added products including white salt vs. Ice Slicer and regular Mag Chloride vs. MeltDown Apex. 

Existing poles or overhead traffic signs provide a suitable location for the installation of road sensors, which will then report directly back to a website. The crew responsible for maintaining the state roads just east of Greeley, Colorado will run taper logs or use AVL to track usage of products during storm events. Both ESI and partners will have live access to all of the data and video cameras. 

While administering the tests the following variables will be tracked:

• Air temperature
• Ground temperate
• Road friction
• Wet and dry humidity
• Barometric pressure
• Thermometric pressure
• Wind speed and direction
• Ice layer depth
• Snow layer depth
• Water layer depth

Products will then be compared based on a friction coefficient. Tires need a certain amount of friction to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. Dry roads usually account for levels of .82 or .9. As water begins to accumulate and freeze the friction level drops to .5 or lower. 

“We are aiming to get these products as close to the high number as possible during storms, thus allowing a vehicle traveling 30 mph to stop within a certain amount of feet,” says the spokesperson.

End data will be shared with partners such as DOT’s and academic agencies to assist in increasing the potential for future research projects. The safety of the public will be kept in mind and ensured during these trials. Please continue to follow Snow Magazine online for upcoming results.

Snow Magazine Website

durablend Showcased in World Ag Expo’s Top-10 New Products for 2012

EnviroTech Services, Inc. is proud to announce its product durablend has been included in the World Ag Expo’s Top-10 New Product competition for 2012. Over 1,800 products are submitted for entry and it’s an honor to be a finalist. Winners will be showcased February 14 – 16 during the 45^th World Ag Expo in Tulare, California.

This remains the world’s largest annual agriculture exposition occupying 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space and attracts over 50,000 attendees from all over the world. 1,600 exhibitors display the latest in farm equipment, chemicals, communications and technology. A judge’s panel made up of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals selected the Top-10 New Products.

ESI nominated durablend distinctively because it supplies a “greener” product for this industry. An enhanced chloride dust control and road stabilization product, durablend dust suppressant, provides a more efficient and more environmentally friendly alternative to typical chloride treatments without sacrificing performance.

The product blends an organic-based polymer with either magnesium chloride or calcium chloride. This combination locks dust particles and aggregate together in the top one-half inch of the road, preventing them from migrating and maintaining the base – even after rainfalls. The problem with the widely-used magnesium chloride and calcium chloride dust control products is that they are drawn to water. Heavy rainfalls tend to wash out materials, reducing their effectiveness and posing a threat to trees, vegetation and water quality.

ESI takes its role as an industry leader seriously and is proud to be included in the Top-10 New Products for 2012. We look forward to participating in this event.

World Ag Expo Website

Capitalizing on Sidewalk Snow Removal

Snow professionals are always looking for ways to improve their sidewalk service operations. It's a complex challenge, but the right combination of tools and tactics leads to an increase in profit, a decrease in time on the job, safer properties and a reduction in the damaging effects of deicers on concretes and landscapes. Having the right plan to guide crews in doing their work quickly, correctly and in a cost-effective manner is key to success in this industry. Some snow contractors use the traditional approach of sending out crews in the middle of the night, armed with snow shovels and buckets of cheap ice melt, to clear sidewalks before the start of business. This "tried-and-true" method has been somewhat effective, but it often results in complaints and frustration by tenants, property managers and owners, and less profit for contractors. There is another way. Snow can be efficiently removed from sidewalks by the same method used to clear snow from streets and parking lots, combining the use of high performance liquid deicers with dependable and effective mechanical spray systems. Mounting liquid deicing systems on ATVs and UTVs with plows, blowers or power brooms is a relatively new approach. This combination provides great benefits; one worker is able to simultaneously remove snow and apply deicer product. Furthermore, since a liquid rather than granular deicer is used, there is no wait time. Engineered liquids also melt ice in colder temperatures than granular products do and have a greater melting capacity, resulting in less product being used. Consider the potential cost savings for your operation. In terms of labor-saving costs, as many as 10 hours of shoveling and dispersing granular ice melt are needed to do the same job that could be done in one hour using an ATV and a plow with a liquid sprayer. When considering product costs, consider that 25 gallons of quality liquid deicer can cover as much as 25,000 square feet. To melt the same area, about 200 lbs. of granular magnesium chloride is required. Costs vary throughout the country, but in Colorado, that is a 33 percent savings in product cost. Another advantage of high-performance liquid deicers is the decreased environmental impact on concrete and the surrounding landscape. Cycles of freezing and thawing are the key culprits causing the most damage to concrete and paved surfaces. Deicers are absorbed into concrete, then expand and contract between a liquid and solid state as temperatures fluctuate. This causes expansion and cracking in poorly air-entrained concrete, ultimately resulting in complaint calls from property managers. Properly engineered high-performance liquid deicers cause less damage since they stay in a liquid state much longer than granular products, decreasing the number of freeze/thaw cycles and, therefore, the stress put on the concrete. If you're a snow contractor distributing granular ice melt by hand and shovel, take a good look at your labor and product costs, wasted material and unintended damage to client properties, time and money spent dealing with unhappy property managers and paying for repairs, and then consider switching to a new method. Written by: Randy Goings - ESI Commercial

Enclosure

EnviroTech Services’ Steve Bytnar to Present New Research on De-Icer Performance Measurement at APWA 2011 Snow Conference

Greeley, Colo. — Steve Bytnar, director of research and quality for EnviroTech Services, Inc., a road maintenance and safety solutions company, will be a featured speaker at one of the key educational sessions at the American Public Works Association’s 2011 Snow Conference. The conference is being held at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Washington from April 10–13.

WHAT: The presentation, “Performance Measures for De-icing Products,” will focus on new technologies and test methods that may be able to better predict the true performance of a de-icing product on the road. Today, winter maintenance professionals face many challenges. Making the job more difficult, there are now regulations and expectations regarding corrosion and the environment that did not exist 20 years ago. To meet these new challenges, the winter maintenance professional had to seek out new technologies. We now have ground speed control to precisely manage the application rates of products. We have instrumentation on trucks to monitor the friction of the road surface. We have RWIS systems reporting road and weather conditions at remote locations. Finally, we have a vast array de-icing products to choose from.

But what criteria are we using to choose the de-icing product? What data are we analyzing in order to determine which product is best? What attributes are the most important, and what test methods are we using to measure performance?

PRESENTER: Steve Bytnar, director of research and quality for EnviroTech Services

WHEN: Tuesday, April 12 at 1:45pm

LOCATION: Room 111 - C

EnviroTech Services’ ESI-Spray Mini Systems Named By Better Roads Magazine as a 2010 Top Product Rollout

GREELEY, Colo.—EnviroTech Services, Inc. (www.envirotechservices.com), a road maintenance and safety solutions company that produces products to improve natural and man- made environments, recently had its ESI-Spray Mini Systems named as one of the 2010 Top Rollouts by Better Roads magazine, as part of a section that highlights what the editors consider to be the top new road maintenance and treatment products released in 2010.

ESI-Spray Mini Systems are similar to the division’s existing Fixed Automated Spray Technology (FAST) systems, but they are constructed in a smaller, self-contained unit that is easy to install and manage.
Key benefits of ESI-Spray Mini Systems follow:

• Superior spray coverage that offers 500 feet in each directio
• Easy-to-use push button activation
• An automatic low-tank-level shutoff feature
• Compatible with most anti-icing and de-icing products on the market
• Spread spectrum radio remote control with 1,500 feet line-of-sight

In addition, ESI-Spray Mini Systems do not require a control building and provide a niche solution for parking garages and smaller bridges. Like other spray systems that EnviroTech offers, ESI-Spray Mini Systems can be controlled and monitored through remote access via the Internet over a secure server. They can also be upgraded to offer the latest in road sensor technology.

Tina Grady Barbaccia, executive editor, Better Roads said, “Upon reflection of the year that was, of the hundreds of product introductions reviewed and processed, 15 caught our eye for their industry significance, their ingenuity, their filling of a market need and/or their just plain ol’ coolness. Keeping the list to 15 – and a unique 15 – is admittedly difficult. It means, for instance, removing tremendous new products that, while key to the construction industry overall, may not necessarily be germane to the road sector.”

Profiles of the 15 Top Rollout products are in the December 2010 issue of Better Roads and can be viewed at www.betterroads.com/2010-top-rollouts.

“These new mini-spray systems represent the next level in automated road treatment technology,” said Bill Bebb, head of design and engineering for ESI-Spray division. “They are cutting edge, compact, easy to use and highly reliable. We designed these systems with our customers in mind, and the result is a viable solution that fulfills their needs for road treatment in a cost-effective manner.”

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About EnviroTech Services/ESI-Spray division EnviroTech Services, Inc. has been successfully providing products and services to improve road safety for 20 years. Based in Greeley, Colorado, it delivers innovative road maintenance and safety solutions with proven performance and personalized service for both natural and man- made environments. The ESI-Spray division was formed in 2006 in response to the needs of winter maintenance customers who owned outdated spray systems. The division partners with Vaisala to provide state-of-the-art, fully automated spray systems and also offers services to rebuild and update existing spray systems. For more information call 1-800-369-3878 or visit www.envirotechservices.com.
About Better Roads Better Roads serves the information needs of governments and construction contractors involved in federal, state, county, city and township highway, road and bridge construction, winter maintenance, roadside and vegetation management and other highway-related projects. With key editorial focus on the government/contractor project team, Better Roads provides readers with information and ideas from concept through completion for all types of highway-related projects. The magazine provides a forum for governmental highway project owners and the contractors who are pre-qualified to bid on governmental work. www.betterroads.com