Salt Brine Capillary Crystallization: An Environmentally Friendly, Zero Liquid Discharge Treatment of Brine to Mitigate Disposal Issues and Harvest Salts

A pilot for the production of raw salt from sabkha brine, using Salt Brine Capillary Crystallization (SBCC) process, produced crystalline raw salt. SBCC produces salt from concentrated brine in the open environment using proprietary technology. The process uses thermal renewable energy of sun and wind for the evaporation of the brine. Salt crystals are produced from, airborne micro-droplets of aspirated brine and capillary action to pump the brine to the soil/salt surface. The adjusted production is over one meter of depth per year. Salt quality was, 96.38 % NaCl for raw salt and 99.43% after mechanical washing. Energy consumption for raw salt production using SBCC process is 0.73 kwh/metric ton. The process is chemical use free, environmentally conscious, and sustains the productivity (leachate and effluent are not returned to the brine production segment.). The SBCC technology is technically and economically superior to dredging and adds value to raw salt production.