Commonly known as “road salt,” sodium chloride that is commonly used to thaw roads in snowy conditions is harmful to the environment.
If on the one hand it provides traffic, on the other the de-icing salt corrodes both the asphalt surface and the metals of the vehicles and guardrails.
There may soon be a much kinder alternative to nature. The grape skins offer it to us.
A team formed by Professor Xianming Shi and his student Mehdi Onari Valle, scientists at the University of Washington, began to develop a special process. By taking advantage of the natural fermentation of the fruit, this "grape" compound does not produce waste that is harmful to the environment but does the same excellent job as the best salt. On the contrary.
More effective than defrosting salt
The team tested the defroster made from grape skins and recorded significantly better (and faster) performance than sodium chloride-based products.
Very little damage to concrete and asphalt, no environmental risk for groundwater, while marine life does not benefit (as with other similar products, the oxygen released into the water can cause problems for aquatic fauna).
Not just grapes
The regions that grow grapes more profitably are generally warmer and do not require defrosting, which does not support the adoption of the product with the "zero kilometer" philosophy.
What developed by the two researchers, however, is a process, and could also be applied to other types of fruit to obtain similar or even better products.
There are currently being studied defrosters based on peony leaves, sugar beet, dandelion leaves (!!!) and apple production waste. Regarding the last raw material, I can already say in advance which variety will never be used: Cosmic Crisp, that lasts a whole year before rotting.
This is why the research of the two academics is an important step in the right direction of solving a small, big problem.
