At the Robert B. Hill Co., we get our solar salt from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The salt is delivered via rail car, which allows us to purchase in large quantities and reduce the possibility of shortages. We also deliver Neusalt, which is solar salt delivered in bulk by our revolutionary process. Neusalt is typically delivered pneumatically via specialized equipment that is installed in your facility in quantities of 2,000 to 10,000 lbs.
Commercial solar salt is produced by natural evaporation of seawater or brine in large, diked, earthen concentration ponds called condensers. Seawater averages about 3.5% NaCl (salty lakes like the Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake can be much higher) when it enters the condensers. Climate is very important in solar salt production. The sun and wind provide the energy to evaporate the water and raise the salt concentration to the point of crystallization, 25.8% NaCl (25.4o Bé).
As the water concentrates, calcium carbonate is the first chemical to crystallize. By moving the increasingly-saline brine through a series of ponds, sometimes over a period that can be as long as two years, the calcium carbonate is thus removed from the final salt product. When the concentration has increased to the most favorable crystallizing level, 26o Bé, the brine is introduced into the crystallizing ponds.
As salt crystallization proceeds, the concentration continues to increase. At 29 or 30o Bé, between 72% and 79% of the total salt has been crystallized. If proper brine control is performed during concentration and crystallization, it will result in salt purity of >99.7% NaCl. Typical purity is 99.9%. The crystallizing pond is then drained of the remaining highly concentrated magnesium brine (called “bitterns” because of its taste) which are either discharged or further processed for other minerals. Mobile harvester equipment then strips the newly-deposited layer of salt crystals, and they are washed (in clean brine to prevent loss), crushed and sometimes dried in kilns or fluidized-beds driers.
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Robert B. Hill Co has been delivering salt and products to the Twin Cities metro for over 60 years. Contact us today for pricing or schedule a delivery.
