ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Heavy Snow Can Be Melted on the Spot
by an Intellectualized Thermal Energy
Utilization System against the Background
of Snow-Melting Agents Ban Policy
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Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, YICCAS, Yantai, Shandong 264003, P.R. China
Submission date: 2024-12-06
Final revision date: 2025-04-04
Acceptance date: 2025-04-19
Online publication date: 2025-07-03
Corresponding author
Yanqing Sheng
Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, YICCAS, Yantai, Shandong 264003, P.R. China
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ABSTRACT
As the main snow removal methods on roads, snow-melting agents and mechanical removal
are neither environment-friendly nor energy-friendly. Against the background of the snowmelting
agent’s ban policy, a novel intellectualized thermal energy utilization system was designed
in this work to melt snow automatically on the spot. It comprises a mobile ice-snow melting device
and a fuzzy control-based intelligent energy-efficient system. The heat-dissipating simulation for this
device’s physical model illustrated this structure’s excellent performance in gathering and melting
snow, maximizing heat utilization, and conserving energy. Importantly, key findings reveal that the
device could be universally applicable in various snowfall circumstances by conducting comprehensive
snow-melting experiments. After establishing the energy flow model and analyzing the cost accounting
and carbon footprint, this work not only lays a theoretical foundation for the intelligent system based
on optimal energy use efficiency and sufficient capacity for melting snow but also finds this novel
device is more environment-friendly and cost-effective in practical applications compared to others.
These findings can assist policymakers in cold regions to progressively transform relevant policies from
an economic to an environmental orientation, which may contribute to urban infrastructure planning,
management, or maintenance.