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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Led by Dr. Seda Kizilel, a team of scientists at Turkey's Koc University mixed the salt potassium formate with a hydrophobic (water-repelling) polymer known as styrene-butadiene-styrene [gizmag.com]. That mixture was in turn added to bitumen, which is the main binding ingredient in asphalt. The resulting composite material was found to be just as tough as regular bitumen, yet its salt content "significantly delayed" the formation of ice on its surface.

In lab tests, it continued to release salt for a period of two months, still melting ice as it did so. The effect could reportedly last for much longer on an actual road, however. This would be because as the top layer of salt-depleted asphalt was worn away by traffic, fresh "salty" asphalt would be exposed from beneath.

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