Salt is used directly by many industries such as in textile dyeing ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ) and in "industrial" uses like curing animal hides ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ) whether done commercially or at home. Salt is also considered the "aspirin of aquaculture" and used by fish farmers to keep their "product" healthy. A variety of materials, each of which is used in the production of many products, are produced by different treatments, or processing, of rock salt or salt brine. Following are a few of the most important:
LIQUID SODIUM – in more recent years, used as the coolant, or heat exchanger, an essential element in the nuclear process.
METALLIC SODIUM – used in making brass and bronze; sodium cyanide, in turn, used in making case-hardened steel and fumigating materials, in indigo and other synthetic dyes.
CHLORINE – used primarily in producing polymers that are used in manufacture of plastics, synthetic fibers and synthetic rubber; also used in crude oil refining, for making pesticides; in household bleach, water treatment and sewage treatment.
CAUSTIC SODA – an element used in making glass, rayon, polyester and other synthetic fibers, plastics, soaps and detergents.
SODIUM SULFATE – used extensively in the manufacture of pulp and paper, dyes and ceramic glazes.
SODIUM CARBONATE – used in manufacture of glass, pulp and paper, and rayon.
HYDROCHLORIC ACID – used in making synthetic rubber and in cleaning gas and oil wells.
SODIUM BICARBONATE – used in textile manufacturing, processing leather, making glass and neutralizing acids.
SODIUM NITRATE – an ingredient in fertilizers and explosives.
LENSES AND PRISMS. Sodium Chloride is used for windows, lenses and prisms where transmission in the 0.25 µm - 16 µm range is desired. Because of its low absorption, Sodium Chloride is being used in high power laser systems. Polished surfaces must be protected from moisture by exposing them to only dry atmosphere or by using a heating element to keep the surfaces above ambient temperature. Sodium Chloride can be used at temperatures up to 400 °C.
HOT SALT ENERGY -- Salt domes are hot! Developing and using this energy directly or by making electricity is a possible future energy source.
MOLTEN SALT SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCTION -- now in operation in Southern California
MOLTEN SALT WASTE INCINERATION ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 )
SALT GRADIENT SOLAR PONDS -- Solar ponds are a promising source of renewable energy -- an inexhaustible source if economic feasibility can be established. A salt gradient solar pond ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ) operates using layers of different concentrations of salinity to trap heat so it can be recovered. There are many operating ponds throughout the word: El Paso, TX ( 1 2 3 ), Hambantota, Sri Lanka and Kutch, India are examples. An interesting application is to use the power produced to operate seawater desalination plants, either for seawater or brackish groundwater.
ANTIFREEZE IN HOME GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS -- Because of its low toxicity and non-flammability, salt brines are used as an antifreeze agent in geothermal heating and cooling.
COMBATING GREENHOUSE GASSES -- Industrial carbon sequestration is being worked on at the Berkeley Labs. The system works by storing carbon dioxide gas underground.
In addition, if isolated from the interference from the actual salt mining operations, conditions in salt mines can be ideal for performing many experiments in physics and astrophysics that require precise conditions for accurate measurement.
For further information, contact the Salt Institute, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, the American Leather Chemists Association, the U.S. Hide, Skin and Leather Association, the Ceramic Information Center, The Textile Institute or the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists . Note our disclaimer.
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