Ice drills recovery using chemical deicers

Chemical deicing is a common and necessary procedure in several fields of application. This study investigated the effects of the concentration and temperature of ethylene glycol and ethanol on the rate of ice dissolution. The ice dissolution rate in glycol solutions was found to be slightly lower than that in ethanol solutions at the same concentration and temperature. The dissolution rate of ice increased exponentially with temperature. For example, at a temperature of −5 °C, 60 wt % solution of ethylene glycol dissolved ice at a rate of 0.679 g/min, and at a temperature −50 °C, the rate was only 0.006 g/min. The concentration of the deicing reagent had a considerably weaker effect on the dissolution rate of ice, as compared to temperature. However, at higher temperatures, the concentration had a stronger effect. At temperatures of −5 to −10 °C, the gradient of the ice dissolution rate in glycol solutions was approximately 4.5 mg/(wt. %⋅min), while at low temperatures of up to −50 °C, it was only 1.5 mg/(%⋅min). Using deicers to recover stuck drills in ice are discussed and suggestions for low-temperature deicing applications are provided.