Magnesium Chloride: Snow Removal, Ice Control, and More

The compound magnesium chloride, chemical formula MgCl2, has become an increasingly popular choice for many seeking premium high performance deicers.  Use our dry magnesium chloride for snow and ice removal, anti-icing applications in advance of snow events to prevent ice and snow from freezing to the surface, and as catalyst with road salt for the removal of ” hard-pack”.

Meltsnow.com offers all forms of dry magnesium chloride, including magnesium chloride in 50 lb. bags, magnesium chloride in bulk, and magnesium chloride in super sacks, also called bulk bags or FIBCs – flexible intermediate bulk containers.   The available packages of our calcium chloride flakes are; 50 pound plastic bags, and 2,205 pound bulk bags, FIBC, or super  sacks. We deliver by box trailer, flatbed, rail, or ocean vessel. Magnesium chloride is available in flake, pellet, powder, granular, prills, and nugget forms. We stock and offer dry magnesium chloride products from Dead Sea Works and other producers. Some of the brand name mag chloride products we offer include:

MAG® Pellets
MAG® Flakes
Magnesium chloride pellets
Magnesium chloride flake
Magnesium chloride crystals
Mag chloride granular
Safe Step® Pro Series 750 Magnesium Chloride
Safe Step® 50lb Extreme 8300 Magnesium Chloride Ice Melter
Freez Gard Magnesium Chloride crystals
Freezeguard crystals
Bischofite crystals
Salmag crystals
Our magnesium chloride dry products are available as 100% MgCl2:6H2O.  We do not offer anhydrous magnesium chloride (98% MgCl2) for consumers due to the very reactive nature – extreme heat on dilution – which is why we limit anhydrous magnesium chloride sales only to properly trained industrial users.  We also offer a full range of liquid calcium chloride products too.

Check Out Our Dry Magnesium Chloride Products For…

Anti-Icing
Ice Control
Pre-Mix
Equine Arena Dust Control

Advantages of Using Magnesium Chloride Flakes, Pellets, Crystal, Granular, and Prills

Pellets – Magnesium chloride pellets are a spherical shape and work very well with ice melt spreaders. They do tend to roll like small BBs, which in some applications is an advantage and in others, a disadvantage. The pellet or spherical shape provides performance benefits as their interface with ice and snow is more concentrated and allows them to “bore” into and down under the icy surface, creating a brine underneath. This makes for easier mechanical clearing by helping to loosen the bond of ice to the surface that is being cleared.

Pastille Pellets – Magnesium chloride pastille pellets are a spherical shape cut in half and flat on one side, similar to the candy called “Buttons” or “Dots”.   These work very well with ice melt spreaders. They do  roll or blow off once scattered  like small BBs, which in some applications is an advantage and in others, a disadvantage. The pellet or spherical shape provides performance benefits as their interface with ice and snow is more concentrated and allows them to “bore” into and down under the icy surface, creating a brine underneath. This makes for easier mechanical clearing by helping to loosen the bond of ice to the surface that is being cleared.

Flakes – The advantages of magnesium chloride flakes are that they provide a large flat surface area and stay put when applied. They also easily pass through various ice melt spreaders, including home-style walk behind spreaders and  commercial grade spreaders and equipment. Flakes are desirable when mixing with other dry products used to combat snow and ice, like salt, sand, or other abrasives, and to open hard pack by making your own a “hot mix” with salt . Typically, flakes are more cost effective than pellets and they provide a good value.

Crystals – Magnesium chloride in crystal form is about comparable to refined table sugar. It is typically used to manufacture liquid magnesium chloride at remote sites where the cost of transportation of liquids (70% water) is not economical. Mag chloride crystals are also used for dust control, and as an additive in other processes, including as an accelerator in concrete to decrease set times in cold weather, as a refrigeration brine for skating rinks and cold storage facilities, and as a desiccant to scavenge moisture where it will adsorb so much water that it will eventually dissolve into the water it attracts.

Cubes – We are continuing development work on our patent to produce a cubical magnesium chloride which will have all the advantages of the mass that pellets contain, but will have flat sides whereby they will not roll off on sloped surfaces, nor blow off any surface in high wind environments. This patent pending deliberately formed flat sided shape has the ice-boring features of a pellet, but they will stay where they are applied and don’t roll or blow away like prills and pellets. The cubes allow for added control of the spreading on sidewalks and entrance areas that are adjacent to sensitive vegetation typical of commercial properties with landscaped features that surround the buildings and walkways making them preferable in these environments.

Granular – MgCl2 in granular form is used extensively in the Western US as it is the only dry form of magnesium chloride available from domestic US producers. Its granular form is often difficult to flow through non-commercial push spreaders and application equipment and it lacks the mass to be as effective as pellets and cubes on ice, but it will perform similarly to flake mag chloride.

Prills – Magnesium chloride in prill form is also referred to as pellets. Prills and Pellet are the same product.

Magnesium Chloride for Dust Control

Use our dry magnesium chloride for dust control and fugitive dust suppression. Meltsnow.com stocks all forms of dry magnesium chloride used in dust abatement. Available package types of our magnesium chloride flakes, mag chloride pellets and magnesium chloride pastille pellets are; 50 pound plastic bags, and 2,205 pound FIBCs – also called bulk bags or super sacks. Our magnesium chloride crystals are available only in 2205 lb. super sacks. We deliver by box trailer, flatbed, rail, or ocean vessel. Typically magnesium chloride flakes and/or crystals are used for dust control because they are the least expensive form of dry magnesium chloride when calculated on an active horsepower basis; MgCl2. However, you can use any form of our calcium chloride to get the job done. You can download our brochure for how to use our magnesium chloride products for dust control for more information.

Advantages of Using Magnesium Chloride Flakes and Mag Chloride Crystal for Dust Suppression

Magnesium chloride has become a a preferred choice for road dust control products. Why? The reasons are many:

• Magnesium chloride is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts moisture from the air and its surroundings. This keeps unpaved surfaces damp and the dust down.
• Mag chloride also resists evaporation, so a single application provides on-going benefit for extended period.
• Magnesium chloride’s thirst for moisture helps bind aggregate particles together by keeping the fines on the road and not in the air. Unpaved surfaces become and remain compacted and over time, the chemical penetrates the surface adding a stabilizing effect to reduce frost damage and overall wear.
• Maintenance costs for a magnesium chloride-treated road are much less than untreated roads, or roads treated with alternative products.

Dry MgCl2 in flake and pellet form will work well in most existing equipment that is set up to spread sand and salt products in the winter. New England Townships have used calcium chloride to manage unpaved surfaces, including dirt roads and parking areas, for years. This cost effective process reduces the amount of labor required to maintain unpaved surfaces that typically require grading and rolling several times of year when calcium is not applied. Our most popular calcium chloride dry products for dust management are our calcium chloride flakes in super sacks and 50 pound bags, and our calcium chloride pellets.

Whether building new roads or rehabilitating existing roads, simply spreading magnesium chloride on the surface, or using it in full-depth reclamation technique, magnesium chloride is the dust control material of choice. At an average of $0.10 per square foot for total dust control in your indoor arena, MAG is the least expensive and most effective horse arena dust control option. Also, because of its extremely low toxicity and gentle natural composition, our MAG Flakes are recommended for equine arena dust control by many prestigious facilities like Kentucky Horse Park and the Rolex Cup. Look for our MAG Flakes for arena dust control or contact us for an authorized distributor near you. MAG will in your indoor arena dust problems permanently; we guarantee it!