Deicing Products > Commercial > Cryotech CMA®
Corrosion Properties
CMA exhibits very low corrosion rates on metals found in bridges, roadways, parking garages, and other steel and concrete systems. Commonly described as being about as corrosive as tap water, CMA is often used as the corrosion standard by which other deicers are judged. Years of real-world use coupled with laboratory tests throughout the 1980's and 1990's sponsored by the U.S. FHWA, U.K Department of Transport, and other independent institutions have concluded: CMA is a proven low corrosion deicer.
Corrosion Retardation
A switch to CMA on chloride-contaminated concrete structures may extend their useful life. Tests by the Denmark Ministry of Transport with steel rebar in chloride-contaminated concrete showed that when samples were treated with CMA solutions, corrosion rates were reduced. Later tests by BP Chemicals concluded: "CMA is non-corrosive towards steel reinforcement in concrete and can arrest incipient corrosion induced by prior use of rock salt deicers."
Corrosion Inhibitor
The FHWA evaluated the corrosion effects of various "inhibited" deicers with the following results:
A number of laboratory tests suggest that CMA may be an effective corrosion inhibitor when combined with salt. Although tests were different in type and duration of exposure, all indicated that as little as 20% CMA in a CMA/salt blend resulted in a 70% to 80% reduction in corrosion. As expected, the best corrosion protection results from the use of pure CMA.
