Editing Deicing (section)

=== Aviation ===
[[File:A U.S. Army C-37B aircraft transporting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, gets de-iced before it departs Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.jpg|thumb|300px|A U.S. [[C-37B]] VIP jet gets de-iced before departing Alaska in January 2012]]
{{main|Icing (aviation)}}

==== Ground de-icing of aircraft ====
{{main|Ground deicing of aircraft}}

On the ground, when there are freezing conditions and [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]], de-icing an aircraft is commonly practiced. Frozen contaminants interfere with the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle. Furthermore, dislodged ice can damage the engines.

Ground de-icing methods include:
* Spraying on various [[aircraft deicing fluid]]s to melt ice and prevent reformation
* Using unheated forced air to blow off loose snow and ice
* Using infrared heating to melt snow, ice, and frost without using chemicals
* Mechanical deicing using tools such as brooms, scrapers, and ropes
* Placing an aircraft in a warm hangar

==== In-flight de-icing ====
{{main|Ice protection system}}

Ice can build up on aircraft in flight due to atmospheric conditions, causing potential degradation of flight performance.  Large commercial aircraft almost always have in-flight ice protections systems to shed ice buildup and prevent reformation.  Ice protection systems are
becoming increasingly common in smaller general aviation aircraft as well.

Ice protection systems typically use one or more of the following approaches:
* pneumatic rubber "boots" on leading edges of wings and control surfaces, which expand to break off accumulated ice
* electrically heated strips on critical surfaces to prevent ice formation and melt accumulated ice
* bleed air systems which take heated air from the engines and duct them to locations where ice can accumulate
* fluid systems which "weep" de-icing fluid over wings and control surfaces via tiny holes

==== Airport pavement ====
De-icing operations for airport pavement ([[runway]]s, [[taxiway]]s, [[Airport apron|aprons]], [[taxiway bridge]]s) may involve several types of liquid and solid chemical products, including [[propylene glycol]], [[ethylene glycol]] and other organic compounds. Chloride-based compounds (e.g. [[salt]]) are not used at airports, due to their corrosive effect on aircraft and other equipment.<ref name="EPA airport-TDD">{{Cite report |date=April 2012 |title=Technical Development Document for the Final Effluent Limitations Guidelines and New Source Performance Standards for the Airport Deicing Category |url=https://www.epa.gov/eg/airport-deicing-effluent-guidelines-documents |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |location=Washington, D.C. |id=EPA-821-R-12-005}}</ref>{{rp|34–35}}

[[Urea]] mixtures have also been used for pavement de-icing, due to their low cost. However, urea is a significant pollutant in waterways and wildlife, as it degrades to [[ammonia]] after application, and it has largely been phased out at U.S. airports. In 2012 the [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) prohibited use of urea-based de-icers at most commercial airports.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/eg/airport-deicing-effluent-guidelines |title=Airport Deicing Effluent Guidelines |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2021-02-10 |publisher=EPA}}</ref>