DENVER, CO--(Marketwired - Dec 10, 2015) - Rivertop Renewables, a Montana-based renewable chemicals company, is supplying Colorado Department of Transportation crews in the communities of Durango, Cortez, Lamar and Ridgway with a bio-based corrosion inhibitor for addition to the salt brines used to de-ice roads and bridges this winter. Rivertop's Headwaters 10F corrosion inhibitor reduces the costly impacts of salt brine-induced corrosion on roads, bridges and vehicles by more than 70 percent. The Company projects that use of the anti-corrosion additives will lead to more than $830,000 in annual savings on repairing and replacing infrastructure and vehicles.

Highway departments across the country are increasing their use of salt brine rather than solid road salt to prevent and eliminate ice and snow build-up on winter roads, but must also deal with the corrosion that the brines can cause. Derived from renewable sugars, the Headwaters inhibitor has been demonstrated to perform with a high level of consistency and is cost-effective.

"We're proud that the Colorado Department of Transportation has chosen Headwaters to minimize the costs of corrosion, while maintaining the effectiveness of their de-icing treatments," said Mike Knauf, Rivertop's CEO. "Headwaters inhibitors have been developed to be biodegradable, effective products that not only make sense financially, but also meet environmental standards that are important to Colorado citizens."

According to an online Corrosion Reduction Calculator developed by Rivertop, Headwaters 10F inhibitor is estimated to save the four communities more than $432,000 annually in avoided repair and replacement costs of fleet vehicles, snowfighting equipment, bridges and other highway infrastructure. The Calculator further projects that use of the product saves $399,000 annually in repair and replacement costs for the trucking industry, public fleets outside of the state department of transportation and individual vehicle drivers.

These figures don't include the additional indirect savings from avoided traffic delays, lost productivity or other consequences of corrosion-induced repair and replacement activities. If unmitigated, these costs have been estimated by the Federal Highway Administration to be 10 times the costs of the corrosion itself.

If all state roads in Colorado were treated with brines mixed with the Headwaters corrosion inhibitor the company estimates the annual savings for could exceed $14 million. The calculator is available for anyone to access at: rivertop.com/solution/headwaters.

Corrosion is a big problem for bridges and the cars and trucks that drive on brine-treated roads. A comprehensive 2012 report found that the corrosion and environmental costs pertinent to road treatments are at least $632 per ton of salt applied (adjusting the costs from the primary sources for inflation). The 17 million tons of salt spread on roads, highways and bridges across the country in 2013 equates to about $8 billion in direct corrosion costs.

About Rivertop Renewables
Based in Missoula, Montana, Rivertop Renewables is a producer of novel chemicals derived from all natural resources. Merging proven science with renewable feedstocks, Rivertop Renewables is creating an abundant and economical supply of sustainable, biodegradable and non-toxic chemicals and bioproducts derived from sugars. More information is available at www.rivertop.com.