摘要 |
A relatively low cost double salt road deicer composition is provided which includes a preponderant quantity of calcium magnesium propionate (CMP), together with smaller quantities of calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) and related salts. The product is preferably made by inoculating a sugar substrate (e.g., glucose, xylose or the hydrolysis products of biomass or starch) with facultative bacteria, followed by fermentation under anoxic conditions at moderate temperatures (30 DEG -37 DEG C.) and pH (5-7) in order to yield an organic acid mixture; the mixture is then reacted with a source of magnesium and calcium cations such as dolomite to produce mixed salts, which are then recovered as a solid road deicer. The preferred inoculum is P. acidi-propionici, and the fermentation step can be carried out batch-wise or continuously.
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