When temperatures drop below zero, aircraft need to be doused with thousands of litres of de-icing fluids to keep them functioning. But when the plane takes off, most of the liquid has flowed off and ends up polluting freshwater streams and lakes.
University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) researchers have developed an extensive family of more than 80 anti-freezing coatings, which can be easily applied to aluminium, steel, copper, glass, plastic or any industrial surface without preconditioning or expensive surface treatments.
“We questioned the lifetime of the cryoprotectants and looked at new ways to increase their effectivity,” said researcher Sushant Anand. “Glycols dissolve very fast in the water and get washed away before the plane takes off, and it’s a serious problem that costs hundreds of millions of dollars—most of which literally ends up in the drain.
“We thought, why not improve such chemicals themselves, and make alternatives that can last longer...