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About manufacturing of salts
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Sodium chloride is commonly called rock salt/table salt. Salt is mostly produced by evaporation of seawater. Sodium chloride (NaCl) is also known as common or table salt. It is formed after the reaction between sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. It is a neutral salt. The pH value of sodium chloride is about 7. Sodium chloride is used to enhance the taste of food. Sodium chloride is used in the manufacturing of many chemicals.
Commercial salt is manufactured from rock salt, as well as from seawater and other natural and artificial brines. Most of the artificial brines are obtained by pumping water into underground salt beds. A considerable amount of brine itself is used directly in industrial countries.
Evaporation is the reverse of this process. When an aqueous solution of several salts (seawater, for example) is evaporated, each of the salts precipitates as it reaches its point of saturation in the solution. Thus, the different salts in seawater will precipitate at different times, forming layers on the bottom of the evaporating pond. For seawater and many brines, the order of deposition is calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium magnesium chloride, and magnesium chloride.
Once it has been concentrated, the brine is run through a series of crystallizing pans, usually four in number, where the salt is deposited as evaporation proceeds. In the first crystallizing pan, the brine is concentrated to a specific gravity of 1.23 and remains partly contaminated with calcium sulfate. The specific gravity of the solution in the pan increases slowly during crystallization of the salt, reaching 1.24 in the second pan. In the third pan, the specific gravity of the solution reaches 1.25, and the salt deposited there contains small amounts of magnesium sulfate as an impurity. The final solution, termed bitterns, has a specific gravity of 1.25–1.26 and is used in some countries.
In areas where bedded deposits can be solution-mined, evaporated salt is recovered from these solutions with artificial heat. Some evaporated salt also is made from natural brine or solar salt. Formerly, brine was concentrated in open pans over a fire. More recently, steam-jacketed vessels have been used.
The largest amount of salt produced in the colder climates is rock salt. The largest amount of evaporated salt is produced by multiple-effect vacuum evaporators, and an important quantity is made in so-called open crystallizers or grainers that produce a type of crystal preferred for use in some of the food industries. The brine, natural or artificial, is first pumped into settling tanks, where calcium and magnesium compounds may be removed by chemical treatment. In grainer operations, the settled and filtered brine is delivered to the grainer, a long open trough heated with steam coils.
The brine is fed into the grainer at approximately the same rate at which evaporation is taking place and at a temperature only slightly below that of the brine in the grainer. The residue of brine, or bitterns, may be removed continuously, once a day, or less often. Evaporation occurs at the surface of the liquid, and the crystals originate there. They remain at the surface, held up by the surface tension of the brine. The crystal grows at the top edges, becoming a small inverted hollow pyramid, or hopper. Eventually, the hopper sinks and ceases to grow. When the crystals are recovered, the salt is largely in the form of flakes, hence the name flake salt.
When multiple-effect evaporators are used, the vacuum in each vessel is adjusted so that the vapour from the first vessel is hot enough to boil the brine in the second, the vapour from the second supplying the heat to operate the third vessel or effect. The brine is usually sent through the stages or effects in succession, although in the case of salt manufacture fresh brine may be fed to each stage if desired. With open pans, 10,000 to 12,000 pounds (4,500 to 5,400 kilograms) of steam are required to produce 1 ton (900 kilograms) of salt. With triple-effect evaporation, 1,400 pounds of steam produce 1 tonne of salt.
Commercial salt is manufactured from rock salt, as well as from seawater and other natural and artificial brines. Most of the artificial brines are obtained by pumping water into underground salt beds. A considerable amount of brine itself is used directly in industrial countries.
Evaporation is the reverse of this process. When an aqueous solution of several salts (seawater, for example) is evaporated, each of the salts precipitates as it reaches its point of saturation in the solution. Thus, the different salts in seawater will precipitate at different times, forming layers on the bottom of the evaporating pond. For seawater and many brines, the order of deposition is calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium magnesium chloride, and magnesium chloride.
Once it has been concentrated, the brine is run through a series of crystallizing pans, usually four in number, where the salt is deposited as evaporation proceeds. In the first crystallizing pan, the brine is concentrated to a specific gravity of 1.23 and remains partly contaminated with calcium sulfate. The specific gravity of the solution in the pan increases slowly during crystallization of the salt, reaching 1.24 in the second pan. In the third pan, the specific gravity of the solution reaches 1.25, and the salt deposited there contains small amounts of magnesium sulfate as an impurity. The final solution, termed bitterns, has a specific gravity of 1.25–1.26 and is used in some countries.
In areas where bedded deposits can be solution-mined, evaporated salt is recovered from these solutions with artificial heat. Some evaporated salt also is made from natural brine or solar salt. Formerly, brine was concentrated in open pans over a fire. More recently, steam-jacketed vessels have been used.
The largest amount of salt produced in the colder climates is rock salt. The largest amount of evaporated salt is produced by multiple-effect vacuum evaporators, and an important quantity is made in so-called open crystallizers or grainers that produce a type of crystal preferred for use in some of the food industries. The brine, natural or artificial, is first pumped into settling tanks, where calcium and magnesium compounds may be removed by chemical treatment. In grainer operations, the settled and filtered brine is delivered to the grainer, a long open trough heated with steam coils.
The brine is fed into the grainer at approximately the same rate at which evaporation is taking place and at a temperature only slightly below that of the brine in the grainer. The residue of brine, or bitterns, may be removed continuously, once a day, or less often. Evaporation occurs at the surface of the liquid, and the crystals originate there. They remain at the surface, held up by the surface tension of the brine. The crystal grows at the top edges, becoming a small inverted hollow pyramid, or hopper. Eventually, the hopper sinks and ceases to grow. When the crystals are recovered, the salt is largely in the form of flakes, hence the name flake salt.
When multiple-effect evaporators are used, the vacuum in each vessel is adjusted so that the vapour from the first vessel is hot enough to boil the brine in the second, the vapour from the second supplying the heat to operate the third vessel or effect. The brine is usually sent through the stages or effects in succession, although in the case of salt manufacture fresh brine may be fed to each stage if desired. With open pans, 10,000 to 12,000 pounds (4,500 to 5,400 kilograms) of steam are required to produce 1 ton (900 kilograms) of salt. With triple-effect evaporation, 1,400 pounds of steam produce 1 tonne of salt.
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