Some years ago, Izhevsk refused to use sand and salt-sand mix and selected advanced products to cope with slippery roads: Halite A deicing salt and Bionord multi-component product. Standard consumption of deicing material during a season varies within 10 thousand tonnes, at the same time the most part of it — approximately 8 tonnes — is halite. This year the road maintenance services have prepared more deicing materials: 11.3 thousand tonnes of halite and 2.8 thousand tonnes of Bionord. The street and road network is going to be treated with halite, while Bionord is going to be used on the main streets of the capital city of Udmurtia.
“Next winter Bionord is going to be used on the main streets in Izhevsk. We have two types of this deicing product: Bionord Universal and Bionord Two-Phase. The consumption rate of Bionord Universal is very low, while its melting ability is higher than that of deicing salt. Bionord Two-Phase implies wetting the granules with a special solution. They stick to the road surface and activate the melting process more quickly. They are practically not carried by the wind from the road,” Evgeniy Butov, Head of the Beautification and Public Road System Service Management of the City Administration, says, “The consumption of the agent depends on weather conditions. Road service vehicles are equipped with a special dispenser and this process is controlled via the monitor in the cab, where you can see how much Bionord is left and what the consumption rate per square meter is at the moment.”
Specialists say that in the regions where multi-component agents are used the number of traffic accidents has decreased. Based on results of 2021, in cities where Bionord is used the traffic accident rate decreased: by more than 26% in Perm and by 31% in Izhevsk. For instance, in winter months in 2022, 108 traffic accidents occurred on public roads in the capital city of Udmurtia, as compared to 168 traffic accidents occurred in the same period of the previous year there.
Bionord complies with the new GOST; it is efficient at very low temperatures; it is cost efficient and safe. This list of advantages allows UZPM to expect that the scope of application of the material will expand and people in Izhevsk will feel comfortable and safe next winter.