Storage size

To calculate CMA storage space use a product weight of 0.65 to 0.79 g/cm³ with each metric ton requiring about 1.36m³. The angle of repose is approximately 35 degrees.

Site selection

• Must be safe, meaning good visibility for operators, access away from heavily traveled road or aircraft pathways, warning signs at entrances, security (fencing, lighting, etc.), and safety for the surrounding environment.
• Must be accessible, with easy access for equipment and delivery trucks, big enough for front-end loaders to maneuver, room enough for a 6m pad in front, and doors large enough to accommodate equipment.
• Must be legal, complying with discharge and zoning requirements.
• Must have good drainage away from storage building.
• Must ensure the roof is leak-free, and that doors will not allow water from heavy precipitation events to get inside to the storage area.

Design considerations

• Design should be by a qualified design or construction firm. Choose a flat storage design (avoid silos) without interior supporting posts or beams that may hinder operations.
• Use high quality concrete, which is watertight, has low water permeability, and is airentrained. It should be treated with a quality sealant to prevent spalling. Generally, the less water used in concrete mixtures the better the concrete; so, high quality concrete has a low water-to-cement ratio.
• Pads should be impermeable and contain a moisture barrier to prevent water entry through the floor. Pads should be sloped at approximately two percent.
• Dumping trailers may rise 9 meter above ground level. Allow for this when planning overhangs and locating power lines and lights.
• If conveyors are needed they should use belts, not augers - augers (and air blowers) may fracture the deicer crystal.
• Areas around the building must be adequately lighted for nighttime operations. Inside lighting should be well sealed and high enough to keep deicers from touching wires. Moist CMA dust is conductive and may enter poorly sealed conduits and cause wiring to short circuit.
• Humidity control will significantly improve longer-term CMA storage. Keep building doors closed whenever possible. Air conditioning systems used, should be designed to keep relative humidity below 50%.
• Proper ventilation systems will allow vehicle exhaust fumes and dusts to escape preventing obnoxious or hazardous conditions.
• Tidiness is important to maintaining product quality. CMA should not be contaminated with dirt or other foreign materials. Bulk pile edges should be kept neatly swept. A plastic cover will provide additional protection for the deicer pile.

To empty the bags

The sodium acetate grains have the natural tendency to coagulate during storage. To empty the bags easily, follow this procedure:

Big Bags of 500kg or 1000 kg

Lift up the bag approximately 70 to 100 cm off the ground and drop it to loosen the pellets at the bottom. Then hang the bag over the place of discharge and cut open its bottom. Do not use the hose at the bottom of the bag!

Bags of 25kg

If the product seems solidified, loosen the pellets by dropping the bags a couple of times from a moderate height (5 to 10 cm) on a solid underground.

Storage

• Keep Cryotech CMA in Dry Storage.
• CMA will last indefinitely in storage if kept dry.
• Close open bags tightly at the end of the season.
• CMA may cake in equipment when wet.

Installation and equipment

To sprinkle CMA, you can use the existing sprinkling equipment for solid deicing products. Proper calibration is important to compensate for density. CMA weighs 0.79 g/cm³.

At temperatures below 0°C, acetates become biodegradable when exposed to air. Side effects of this process are a perceptible biological development and surface rust spots. It is therefore advisable to wash the surface of the equipment with hot water and soap after every use.

At the end of the winter season, remove the remaining CMA, and clean the machines thoroughly with hot water and soap.

Don’t park loaded trucks outside in the weather!

Personel protection

If overhandling causes dust, wear a paper dust mask. Colsult the Material Safety Data Sheet for more detailed information.