Environmentally benign anti-icing or deicing fluids employing industrial streams comprising hydroxycarboxylic acid salts and/or other effective deicing/anti-icing agents

A process for producing a deicing and/or anti-icing agent comprising an effective freezing point lowering amount of an organic compound, said process comprising a process selected from the group consisting of:

• a. fermenting a carbohydrate employing a suitable bacillus selected from the Lactobacillus genus, adding a caustic agent to produce a soluble hydroxycarboxylic acid salt, and/or an alcohol to produce a hydroxycarboxylic acid ester, during the fermentation process or later, and
• b. recovering monomers, polymers, esters and/or salts from off-spec and/or waste streams from production of synthetic and/or naturally derived biodegradable polymers selected from the group consisting of polylactate, polyglycolide, polyhydroxyalkonates, linear polyesters, polycaprolactone and mixtures thereof, and optionally, reacting said monomers and/or polymers with caustic or alcohols to produce salts or esters;
• said deicing and/or anti-icing agent optionally further comprising a component selected from the group consisting of:
• (i) a hydroxyl containing organic compound selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl aldosides;
• glycols;
• glycerol;
• monosaccharides;
• hydrogenation products of sugars and/or maltodextrins, and mixtures thereof,
• (ii) soluble salts selected from the group consisting of inorganic salts, carbonic acid salts, carboxylic acid salts, hydroxycarboxylic acid salts, dicarboxylic acid salts and mixtures thereof,
• (iii) an effective freezing point lowering amount of an industrial or agricultural stream,
• (iv) an effective freezing point lowering amount of an organic compound selected from the group consisting of ethyl lactate, glycerol lactate, glycerin carbonate, pipecolic acid and its esters, amino acids and/or their salts;
• lignin compounds, boric acid, boric acid salts, lysine glutamate, sodium pyrrolidone carboxylate, sodium glucoheptonate, lignin sulfonate and mixtures thereof, and
• (v) mixtures of two or more of (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv).