Where To Buy Magnesium Chloride For Dust Control
Have you ever traveled down a Colorado mountain road and noticed along the roadsides there seems to be a considerable amount of trees that look sick and dying? If so, you may be seeing vegetation being adversely affected by magnesium chloride.
where to buy magnesium chloride for dust control
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Magnesium chloride is commonly used as a dust suppressant agent on unpaved roads in the western parts of the United States during the spring and summer. Likewise, magnesium chloride is used extensively for deicing/anti-icing on paved roads during the winter.
A primary reason why magnesium chloride is used in relatively high quantities in the Western United States is because the source is geographically local. The salty waters of the Great Salt Lake of Utah is a major source of magnesium chloride.
Although magnesium chloride is considered to be less expensive than other dust control agents, the potential negative impact of using salt may outweigh any positive aspects. There are numerous reasons why using magnesium chloride is less than desirable for dust control on unpaved roads. These include:
It has long been recognized that another salt product, sodium chloride, when used for deicing purposes has negative impacts on road side vegetation. The effect of salts on roadside soils and vegetation are well documented. Likewise, it has also been found that unpaved roadside vegetation impacted from magnesium and/or calcium chlorides applied for dust control purposes have demonstrated similar symptoms to those as sodium chloride.
The major differences are that deicing applications are mainly done during the wintery months on paved roads, while dust control is done during the spring and summer months on unpaved roads. The timing of the dust control applications will impact the roadside vegetation differently since they are actively growing and transpiring. Also the absence of snow melt during the dust control season greatly effects the concentration and dilution of the soil salts when compared to deicers. This reduced dilution help keeps the magnesium chloride from washing far downstream with meltwater but enhances downward leaching into the soil therefore increasing the impacts on nearby vegetation.
Magnesium chloride is a simple compound composed of two essential nutrients both required for plant growth, however too much of either magnesium or chloride can harm a plant. Although chloride is an essential nutrient, only very small amounts are beneficial to plants. The chloride is considered do more harm to vegetation than the magnesium.
When magnesium chloride is used for dust control the pathway for chlorides to vegetation is washing/leeching off a road (mainly downslope) into the soils with rainwater or snow melt. A study done by Colorado State University has documented elevated salt concentrations between 9-foot and 320-feet from roads.
Once the chloride gets into the soil it can be taken up by plant roots. When the chloride gets into a plant, it moves up the water-conducting system and accumulates at the margins of leaves or conifer needles. This is where die-back occurs first. At high chloride concentrations, damaged trees may be evident after two years of treatment.
While the ease of availability and the lower cost of magnesium chloride maybe attractive, the long-term environmental impact is significant. Products such as Earthbind 100 for dust control can significantly reduce dust from unpaved roads while being environmentally friendly. Earthbind, once cured, is not water-soluble and stays in the road bed and can improve the road base with each application. Learn more about how you can control dust without killing roadside vegetation with Earthbind 100.
A dust suppressant is a material used to control floating particle matter. Commonly used suppressants include; salts like calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, as well as organic petroleum products, like asphalt emulsions, or organic non-petroleum products such as vegetable oils and tall oil.
Magnesium chloride is one of the most popular dust suppression methods in the Western United States because much of it is locally sourced from the salty waters of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It can be purchased and applied as flakes, pellets, or as a liquid.
Having been used as a dust suppressant since the early 1920s, it has a long history of dust control. Its longevity depends on the application, climate, traffic conditions, and other variables. Some roads require only one application per year, while others require two or more.
Magnesium chloride works the same way as calcium chloride. A single application can reduce issues associated with; dust contamination to crops, vehicle and machinery maintenance, injury from flying stones and loose gravel, impaired driver vision due to disturbed dust, and dust-related respiratory problems.
Calcium chloride is a simple material manufactured from natural brine deposits found underground or from the synthetic Solvay process. The Solvay process entails obtaining the material from limestone, ammonia, and brine. It is processed into a colorless, odorless liquid, which is primarily used as a dust suppression product on unpaved roads. It can also be processed into white flakes and white pellets.
As a hygroscopic dust suppression chemical, calcium chloride attracts moisture from the air and surroundings. Compared with plain water, it has a stronger moisture film, higher surface tension, lower vapor pressure, and lower freezing point. This combination enables the chemical to keep unpaved surfaces damp and tiny dust particles in place.
Magnesium chloride vs calcium chloride dust control solutions weighs in fairly evenly. Both materials are similar in effect and even price point, so the choice typically comes down to application and road type.
Maintenance of dust control on roads, agriculture, and construction sites is crucial for the health and safety of anyone working or passing through the area; this includes humans, plants and animals, and even machinery and equipment. Regardless of which dust suppressant product you choose, one of the most important features to look for is how environmentally friendly it is.
Mag Chloride is hygroscopic, meaning it pulls moisture from the air. Since Mag Chloride pulls moisture from the air, it will keep roads damp, lowering the amount of dust that comes off the road. Mag Chloride creates a moisture barrier in the soil that bonds the soil particles together, preventing them from coming off the ground. Mag Chloride resists evaporation, meaning a single application can last for an extended time. However, it will need to be reapplied over time. Since it needs to be reapplied, Mag Chloride is only a temporary solution for dust control.
While Mag Chloride is an effective dust control and soil stabilization method, there are also significant drawbacks. As mentioned before, Mag Chloride will have to be continuously reapplied as it wears down. Another drawback is Mag Chloride's corrosive nature. It is extremely corrosive to metal, meaning it will be corrosive to cars driving on the treated road. If left unwashed, the Mag Chloride will begin corroding the metal on the vehicle, specifically the undercarriage. It is very important to make sure a vehicle driving on a Mag Chloride road is washed efficiently, or the car will begin to corrode, and there is no fixing that. Mag Chloride corrosion damage can only be prevented, not repaired.
While Mag Chloride treatments do not have soil requirements, there are climate requirements which is a downside of using Mag Chlorides. Mag Chlorides are effective in high humidity climates where the moisture content is high. Mag Chlorides are not effective in dry climates where the humidity and moisture content is low. When Mag Chloride is used in a low moisture content area, the soil and Mag Chloride will dry out, which will result in the treated soil being ineffective and yielding in dust, and being unstable.
Magnesium Chloride can be an effective solution for dust control and soil stabilization, but it isn't the most efficient. Mag Chloride is corrosive to vehicles and extremely harmful to the surrounding vegetation. It needs to be continuously reapplied.
We use DustGard as part of our dust control equipment. DustGard is a stabilizing agent derived from Great Salt Lake minerals and its magnesium chloride component attracts moisture from the air in order to keep roads damp. When applied consistently each season, DustGard penetrates the road base and significantly improves stability. Since magnesium chloride is composed of organic minerals, it is non-toxic and completely safe for humans and animals. A DustGard Brochure is available for your inspection. A Magnesium Chloride Material Safety Data Sheet is available for your inspection.
Safe Step Mag Chloride 8300 is one of the fastest-acting premium ice melters on the market. Made from 100% magnesium chloride hexahydrate, it works in extremely cold temperatures while also being gentler on vegetation and concrete.
Still, in prolonged dry weather, there will be dust! Whether to provide some type of dust control or not can be a hard decision to make. Virtually all methods of dust control require annual treatment.
Magnesium chloride (MgCl2)-based dust suppression products are commonly used throughout western United States on nonpaved roads for dust suppression and road stabilization by federal, state, and county transportation agencies. The environmental implications of annually applying these products throughout spring and summer months on adjacent stream chemistry are not known. Sixteen streams were monitored biweekly for 1 to 2 yr in two Colorado counties for a suite of water quality variables up and downstream of nonpaved roads treated with MgCl2-based dust suppression products. Eight of 16 streams had significantly higher downstream than upstream concentrations of chloride or magnesium over the entire monitoring period (p
When a bituminous dust control is applied to a gravel road, a thin layer of liquid asphalt is sprayed directly on the gravel surface as a bonding agent and allowed to cure for at least one day. Then a chip seal layer is applied. First, a thin layer of liquid asphalt is sprayed on the road surface followed by a machine that spreads a layer of small inch washed gravel onto the liquid asphalt. The road is then rolled with a compactor. Later, another coat of asphalt is applied over the inch chips and a second layer of smaller inch chips are applied as the final driving surface. The road is again rolled with a compactor. Traffic is allowed back on the road within an hour of the final application. After a few days the road may be swept to remove any loose chips. 041b061a72