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Calcium chloride is the chloride salt of calcium metal and exists as a white crystalline solid at room temperature. It is soluble in water and highly hygroscopic. It can be obtained as anhydrous CaCl2 or as a hydrated form, called calcium chloride hydrate (CaCl2(H2O)x).
In its anhydrous form, it is used to make brine for refrigeration plants, ice melters and as a desiccant. It is also the main ingredient of the slurry used to produce ceramic slip. It helps clay particles to float, making it easier to handle in slipcasting techniques. It is also used to control scaffolding in blast furnaces and as a de-icer on roads. It is safer on vegetation and soil than the common rock salt (sodium chloride).
As a hygroscopic material, it is used to pack “drying tubes” in laboratory equipment to exclude atmospheric moisture from reaction setups while allowing gases to escape. It is also added to food as a firming agent, especially in pickles to prevent shrinkage and in soybean curds to make them firmer into tofu. It can also lower the freezing point of water, which makes it useful for storing frozen foods or for freezing fruits and vegetables.
The largest-scale use of calcium chloride exploits its hygroscopic properties. A concentrated solution is sprayed on dirt roads to keep a liquid layer on the road surface, which suppresses dust formation and holds it down. This reduces the need for grading and fill-in materials, and extends the life of the roadway. It is also added to concrete mixes to speed up initial set, but not in reinforced concrete, because chloride ions can cause corrosion of steel rebar.