Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem), a producer of calcium chloride, has launched a new website to describe the uses of calcium chloride, including improving motorist and winter pedestrian safety, local air quality, and building stronger, longer lasting roads.

A press release says, OxyCalciumChloride.com was created to provide fact-based best practices to help support more effective sidewalk and highway ice melting, dust control, road base stabilization and full depth reclamation. The website also includes information on other applications where calcium chloride is used to enhance the performance of products and processes that contribute to the supply of energy, food, and other essentials of life.

“Our website has always been a valuable resource to our distributors who supply calcium chloride products in the marketplace,” says Greg MacDonnell,  business and sales manager. “Our new website goes a step further, serving the information needs of building facility managers, road officials, civil engineers, product formulators, process engineers and others. They are the people responsible for keeping sidewalks and highways open and safe in winter, improving the safety and durability of roads, or improving their companies’ products or processes. The market told us they were hungry for factual information that would help them make better decisions. We’ve made every effort to satisfy that need.”

In addition to OxyCalciumChloride.com, OxyChem’s expanded web presence also includes three
micro-sites dedicated to providing detailed information about major applications for calcium chloride.
    •    IceFreeSidewalks.com is devoted to best practices for effective sidewalk ice melting.
    •    StableRoads.com details the benefits of dust control, road base stabilization and full depth reclamation.
    •    IceFreeRoads.com explains how prewetting rock salt and abrasive materials can improve highway snow and ice removal operations.

According to MacDonnell, selection of the optimum material and proper application practices for ice melting, dust control and other applications is made more difficult by the conflicting information users often receive in the marketplace. He said the new website separates the facts from incomplete or misleading information by drawing on the findings of reputable independent research and published best practices sponsored by government agencies – including the National Forest Service, the Transportation Research Board, and Environment Canada ─ as well as major universities and prominent industry organizations. In-depth application experience gained in the company’s more than 100 years as a calcium chloride supplier and the extensive field experience of OxyChem’s distributors also contributed to the website content.

“We believe the facts make a compelling case for choosing calcium chloride over alternative materials.” MacDonnell says. “With that in mind, we decided to ‘write the virtual book’ on the subject, presenting all the facts on our website, so users can make informed decisions for themselves.”