Module: 3

Lecture: 8

SODIUM CHLORIDE

INTRODUCTION

Sodium chloride (NaCl), also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite,
is an ionic compound. Salt is most widely distributed inorganic compound
throughout the world. It is responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the
extracellular fluid of many multi-cellular organisms.

It is a part of human food and life without salt is probably impossible. Other
living beings, such as animals, also require salt for their growth. In India, about 70% of
the salt is consumed by human being and rest 30% is used in the manufacture of
chemicals.

Salt is the basic raw material for the caustic soda and chlorine, soda ash
(sodium carbonate), sodium sulfate, hydrochloric acid etc. Salt is also used in a
large number of other industries, such as hydrogenation of oil, manufacture of soap,
dyes, textile, food processing etc.

SOURCES OF SODIUM CHLORIDE

1. Sea Water
As the India has one of the largest seashore in the world, salt manufacture
sites are spread throughout the country. Main salt manufacturing centers are
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa
and West Bengal. About 70% of the total salt production comes from sea
water.

2. Salt Lakes
There are two important salt lakes in India. Sambhar lake in Rajasthan and
Chilka lake on eastern coast. Sambhar lake produce more than 2.5 lakh tones
of common salt every year.

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 3. Sub Soil Water
It contains more salt than the sea water that is why, is becoming an important
source of salt in the country. Leading salt manufacture sites form sub soil
water are Kharagoda, Didwana, Dharangadhra and Tucticorin.

4. Rock Salt
Rock salt is used during religious festivals mainly produced in Mandi (Himachal
Pradesh).

MANUFACTURE
Salt obtained from above sources 1, 2, or 3 is in solution or liquid form. This
form is called as brine. The various methods used for concentrating the brine
solutions are

1. Solar Evaporation
2. Artificial Evaporation
3. Freezing method

1. Solar Evaporation

It is the cheapest and best method of manufacturing salt from the brines. This
method has widely been used in India.

Lake Salt /Sub soil Recirculating Brine

Salt/ Sea water

Sun
Graveller Grainer pan

Redissolution Calcium
Field Solar evaporator Sulfate
Tank Flasher

Sodium
Centrifuge
Chloride

Screens

Dryer

Figure: Manufacturing of Sodium Chloride by Solar Evaporation

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 Sea brine (3-3.5°Be) is first conveyed to a reservoir through channels to store
brine, remove suspended impurities and to concentrate the brine from original, 3-
3.5°Be to about 10°Be by solar energy. The reservoir is usually kept at a certain
height, where brine flows under gravity. The 10°Be brine is again concentrated to 25°
Be brine by solar evaporation by passing it to condensers through the channels. Due
to evaporation of water from brine the solution gradually concentrates and different
impurities separate out at different concentration as follows

 At 7.5°Be ferrous iron present separates out as ferric oxide

 At 10°Be, calcium carbonate precipitates out
 At12-25°Be, calcium sulfate precipitated out

At the 250Be brine from the condensers is now passed on to the crystallizes,
where salt crystallizes from 25.4°Be to 30°Be and other impurities also start separating.

Salt form the solar evaporation method may be purified by dissolving it in

purified brine or water then crystallize in grainer which is open pan having 15-20ft
width, 150-200ft length and 2ft depth. Beneath the submerged coils is a system of
reciprocating rakes for the salt removal. Evaporation takes place in grainer at 95-
1000C. Flat hopper shaped crystals formed on the surface and then fall to bottom of
the grainer, where the crystal grow further before removed by rack system. The wet
crystal are centrifuged, dried and screened. 99.98% NaCl can be obtained, if the
incoming brine treated properly.

The mother liquor (bittern) is separated for the recovery of other by products.
The main constituents of bittern are NaCl, MgCl2, MgSO4, KCl and Br2.

Major engineering problem

The factors which influence solar evaporation are as under

 Absorption of solar energy

 Air humidity
 Temperature
 Wind velocity

Suitable dyes or black sand are used to increase the rate of absorption of
solar energy and thereby increase the evaporation rate. Suitable soil stabilization is
necessary for the open brine condensers and crystallizers to reduce seepage and
increasing their bearing strength for mechanical harvesting of salt crystals. In
modern salt farms soil is stabilized by blending the soil with salt, gypsum, bentonite

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 and lined with bricks, bituminous plaster and plastic films. Heavy mechanical salt
harvesters are used for gathering salts.

2. Artificial Evaporation

Raw material
Saturated brine = 3450kg
Soda ash (58%) = 3.5kg
Caustic soda (50%) = 0.375kg
Steam = 1135kg (for triple effect evaporator)

Manufacture

Hydrogen
Purified
Sulfide
Brine

Cl2

Brine Multiple
effect
Evaporator
Aerator Settling
Tank Washer

Mud Brine
Air

Caustic Soda
Soda ash
Brine
Mixer Screens Filter
Sodium
Chloride Dryer

Figure: Manufacturing of Sodium Chloride by artificial evaporation

In cold countries, where solar evaporation is not possible on a large scale,

artificial evaporation method is used. Combination of solar evaporation as well as
artificial evaporation methods is also used in France and Germany.

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 Artificial evaporation was carried out in open pans but it is now carried out in
vacuum pans, known as vacuum evaporation methods. It this method, brine is
boiled under reduced pressure in vacuum pan in order to get cubical grains of salt.

Brine is first aerated to remove H2S. Addition of chloride removes the last
traces of H2S and oxidize ferrous ion to ferric ion. Then brine sent to settling tank
where it is treated with dilute solution of caustic soda and soda ash to remove most
of calcium, magnesium and ferric ions. Purified brine is pumped to the vacuum
pans, where calcium sulfate is removed as a result of counter current flow and
hydraulic washing with brine. The vacuum pan evaporators are usually triple effect
evaporators made of cast iron steel sheets and copper tubes. Salt slurry is
continuously drawn from each evaporator through the salt leg at the bottom of
which brine is feed so that the salt slurry is washed by incoming brine, thus washing
back the impurities into the pans. The salt slurry is then conveyed to a cone shaped
tank from where it passes to feed tank for dewatering and drying. The filtered and
partially dried salt from the feed tank finally goes to a rotary drier for final drying. The
lumps of the dried salt are removed from fine dry crystals by passing through a
scalping screen. The salt is then conveyed to storage bins, where it is screened, sized
and packed.

Free flowing table salts are made by blending 0.5-2% magnesium carbonate,
hydrated calcium silicate or tricalcium phosphate with the salt. Iodized salt after
blending contains 0.01% potassium iodide, 0.1% sodium carbonate as stabilizer and
0.1% sodium thiosulfate.

3. Freezing Method

In some countries, salt is also manufactured by freezing the brine, but it is not
a common method.

PROPERTIES
 Molecular formula : NaCl
 Molecular weight : 58.44gm/mole
 Appearance : White crystal
 Odour : Odourless
 Boiling point : 14130C
 Melting point : 8010C
 Density : 2.165gm/mL
 Solubility : Soluble in water

USES
 In chlor –alkali industries
 In manufacture of chemical like caustic soda and chlorine, soda ash, sodium
sulfate, hydrochloric acid etc.

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  In manufacture of soap, dyes,
 Used in textile, food processing, pharmaceutical industries
 High way ice and snow removal
 Used in fire extinguisher
 Used in house hold food preparation.

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