Bio-friendly ice-resistant coatings look to take off

During winter, planes are doused with large amounts of de-icing fluids before they take to the skies. However, most of these glycol-based fluids are washed away during take-off, ending up in rivers and streams. The researchers, from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), have developed more than 80 different ice-resistant coatings in the form of creams, gels and emulsions that are designed to withstand the shearing forces of take-off and which are also biofriendly if they do wash into waterways.

“We questioned the lifetime of the cryoprotectants and looked at new ways to increase their effectivity,” said Sushant Anand, UIC assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

“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 while being more biofriendly. And that is what we ended up doing.”