Technical Paper
De-Icer Quantification and Phase Transition Detection by Raman Spectroscopy
2013-09-17
2013-01-2101
Winter maintenance is based on the intervention of operating services, as well as the use of deicers. Each year, in France, thousands of tons of deicers are spread through runways and taxiways. On the airport sector, the main deicers are sodium or potassium acetates and formates. All these deicers aim to prevent ice formation (preventive strategy) and/or improve the ice melting of snow residual film (curative strategy) at temperatures below 0°C. The operating principle of these compounds is based on the lowering of the solution's freezing point once dissolved in water. The phase diagram's knowledge is predominant to determine the deicer's amount to be applied on the surface. It provides a way to optimize their amounts applied with respect to weather conditions, present or forecasted. The Center for Technical Studies of Equipment in East of France (CETE de l'Est) developed and implemented a method based on Raman spectroscopy to characterize aqueous solutions of airport de-icers.
