The idea all started with a school project about black ice on Alaska’s roadways.
That led Seward High School's Hannah Leatherman down a research rabbithole. She found that while salt brine is a low-cost way to clear ice off roads, it may be corrosive and may attract wildlife, like moose. So, she came up with an alternative to road brine – a thermal asphalt mix.
“It’s just a cleaner way of preventing ice formation,” Leatherman said.
Leatherman pitched her idea earlier this month to Caring for the Kenai, an annual environmental awareness contest for Kenai Peninsula high school students. Her project won first prize.
The salt brine replacement idea would add graphite nanoplatelets to already existing roads. Leatherman says the material is nontoxic and has heating additives that can prevent ice buildup. Unlike salt, it doesn’t attract moose or other animals. So, she says, it can also reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Leatherman says she didn’t originally plan to enter the project to the competition.
“I didn't know about what Caring for the Kenai was when I first started off," she said. "But after a while, I did become really, really passionate about my idea. Once I heard, you know, it hurting animals and that kind of thing, it was like, ‘Oh yeah, I'm dedicated now.’”
Leatherman hopes her project will one day make it to wintry roads on the Kenai Peninsula, and beyond. She’s talking about partnering with Graphite One, a mineral exploration company on the Seward Peninsula, to source graphite nanoplatelets.
Although there’s no official plan to incorporate the idea on local roads, Leatherman hopes that’ll one day change.
“So I just really hope that with time, I will be able to hopefully implement this new mix everywhere," Leatherman said. "This mix will benefit the environment in ways that Alaska, I would say even the U.S., hasn't even imagined yet. I really hope that eventually we'll get there.”
Leatherman’s winning project came with a $2,000 cash prize. She plans to either put the money in a savings account, or invest it in Graphite One.
