Road Weather Management Program
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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Recycling of Salt-Contaminated Stormwater Runoff for Brine Production at Virginia Department of Transportation Road Salt Storage Facilities (Conference Paper)

Abstract:

A large part of the Virginia DOT maintenance effort comprises the implementation of its anti-icing program. Earlier research confirmed that VDOT captures a large volume of salt-laden stormwater runoff at its 300+ salt storage facilities throughout the state and that the disposal options for this water are limited and costly. Although VDOT is implementing recommended management options to reduce the quantity of salt water captured, this research was undertaken to determine the possibility of recycling salt contaminated storm-water runoff for brine production. Field and laboratory tests were conducted using bench-scale brine-generation equipment. In the laboratory phase of this study, brine was produced using tap water applying different hydraulic retention time and temperatures. Storm-water runoff from a storage pond, without any previous treatment, was used in the field phase of this research. Results show that the optimum conditions for brine production are low hydraulic retention time (high flow rates) and high temperatures. The suspended solids present in the storm-water runoff did not diminish the brine quality in the field tests. Economic and environmental benefits can be obtained by applying this recycling strategy.

Source(s):

87th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, University of Virginia-Charlottesville and Virginia Transportation Research Council. For an electronic copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 2007

Author:

Craver, Fitch, Smith

Keywords:


Anti-icing/Deicing chemicals
Benefit/Cost
Costs
Benefits

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