AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Tennessee Department of Transportation is trying out environmentally friendlier ways of keeping ice off of roads, by mixing beet juice with a brine solution to treat roads when the temperatures are low and roads can be treated before a major snow or icing event.
The juice mixture is reportedly non-corrosive and biodegradable. Since it takes a couple days to make 500 gallons of the spray, they try to make it early and spray before the snow or ice hits.
When this was brought to the attention of the Texas Department of Transportation, spokesperson Paul Braun said, "I've never heard of this. We don't use a brine solution at all. We use Mag Chloride and Meltdown 20 for our de-icing, as well as mixing salt with our bottom ash. I'm not sure how beet juice would react with those chemicals. The stuff we use works well. Beet juice, huh? I don't think anyone has even looked into this at TxDOT."
We contacted the Beet Growers Association about this new de-icing mix and could it increase demand for their product. Still no word from them.
According to their website, The Texas Beet Growers Association are reporting a bumper crop for last year.
Throughout the past year, the United States Department of Agriculture has steadily increased its projections for domestic sugar supplies. Based on the early production of this year's harvest, it looks as if the rise might continue.
The USDA estimates that the current harvest will exceed last year's by nearly half a million tons, and the year before by almost a million tons. Combined with the 1.6 million tons of surplus sugar currently stored around the country, a bumper crop will ensure large reserves.
