A NOTE ON SALT WASHERY UNIT

Introduction
Considerable quantity of common salt is being produced. The salt is suitable for edible and to
some extent, for chlor alkali industries.
Common salt produced by existing method i.e. solar evaporation is contaminated with
impurities mainly sulphate, carbonate and bicarbonate. The presence of impurities in salt has
serious economic and environmental consequences. Impurities increase the cost of brine
treatment in chemical processes, magnify the problems of contaminated effluent disposal and
necessitate costly refining of salt for human consumption.
How do impurities in salt effect the chemical industry?
In the chemical industry, salt is mostly dissolved together with the impurities in water or
brine. Prior to feeding the brine to the process, it is purified. Failure to purify the brine
adequately may have serious, even lethal consequences.
Hydrogen evolution
In electrolytic cells, excessive magnesium will cause hydrogen evolution on the anode.
Hydrogen and chlorine form an explosive mixture. Explosion in the cells or in the chlorine
liquefaction may damage the equipment and release chlorine to the environment. Chlorine
gas is highly poisonous and dangerous. Stringent safety measures are taken in the chloralkali
industry to avoid this to happen but the elimination of magnesium is of prime concern.
Mercury butter
Impure brine in mercury cells will cause butter formation. Butter will disturb mercury flow,
causing short circuits that burn the electrodes. Alternatively, a large electrode gap must be
maintained which will increase the power consumption. Butter removal will expose workers
to mercury vapours that are damaging to health. Disposal of mercury butter is costly and
undesirable for the environment.
Contaminated sludge
Sludge from brine purification in chloralkali plants with mercury cells is contaminated with
mercury. Sludge decontamination by distillation requires high temperatures, is costly and
never complete. The disposal of mercury contaminated sludge is environmentally
objectionable and very costly. Avoiding the formation of sludge is better than having to
dispose of it. This requires salt of high purity.
Membrane damage
Calcium and magnesium will damage the ion exchange membranes irreversibly. Erratic
impurity content in salt may cause hardness breakthrough to the membrane cells. Membranes
cost a fortune. The purer the salt, the more remote is the danger of membrane damage.
Encrustation
In soda ash production, excessive sulphate reduces the value of the product. Accumulating
calcium in the process causes encrustation. Periodical scale removal is costly and leads to
loss of production. Salt may be a cheap commodity. But impurities in salt and their removal
cost in many cases more than the salt itself.
How does the chemical industry deal with impurities in brine?
In the chemical industry, impurities in brine such as calcium and magnesium are precipitated
with chemicals. Sulphates are removed either by precipitation with barium or calcium or are
controlled by purging the brine.

What do impurities in salt mean to the food industry?

Quality conscious consumers demand pure products. As one of the raw materials salt must
fulfil stringent specifications, otherwise the product quality may get effected. Crystal salt,
whether stored in silos or used in a shaker, must retain its free flowing properties. Magnesium
on the surface of the salt crystals absorbs humidity from the air and makes the salt damp.
Silos cannot be emptied and shaker holes get blocked. The salt looses market and value.
In order to make it suitable for chlor alkali industries, the salt has to be washed with saturated
brine to remove most of the insoluble impurities as mentioned above.
The salt market is becoming highly competitive and in case we do not improve the quality of
our salt, we may not be able to maintain existing market for salt. Based on the experiments
conducted in the Pilot Salt Washery, a salt washery unit has been installed recently in CSIRCSMCRI.
Salt Washing Process
Common Salt as produced by solar evaporation is contaminated with soluble impurities,
mainly sulphate, carbonate and bicarbonate and insoluble impurities. To make the salt more
pure, the salt has to be washed with a concentrated brine thereby removing most of insoluble
impurities in suspension and the soluble ones with saturated brine solution.
There are numerous processes available for washing of salt and selection of a particular
process is dictated by factors like scale of operation, purity of salt to be washed and the
required specification of the product. For purification of salt containing sulphate as the
principal impurity with small amounts of Carbonate and bicarbonate and insolubles.
The process involves counter current washing of the salt in Screw Conveyors.
Raw salt is fed into 1st screw conveyor (washer / classifier) by Belt Conveyor.
One M.T. salt is washed with 1 cubic meter of saturated brine in an inclined Screw
Conveyors (washer / classifier). Salt is fed at the bottom of Screw Conveyors with the help of
a hopper and conveyed upward by the screw conveyor (washer / classifier). Saturated brine is
fed in the lower portion of the 1st Screw Conveyors. Brine flows through the void volume of
the salt and is collected in the jacket covering the perforated through. During washing of
insoluble impurities with brine, the brine thus collected is sent to condenser to get salt on
solar evaporation. The washed salt reaches at the upper end of screw conveyor (washer /
classifier) and falls into the hopper of 2nd Screw Conveyors (washer / classifier).
In the 2nd Screw Conveyors (washer / classifier) the salt is washed with unsaturated brine so
that salt obtained has low Ca and Magnesium impurities and higher purity. The brine
collected in jacket is now saturated therefore is sent to 1st Screw Conveyors to remove
insoluble impurities.
The salt from the 2nd Screw Conveyors (washer / classifier) has the moisture content of 5 10% which should be reduced before salt is fed to crusher. The wet salt is fed to a horizontal
woven Belt Conveyor (metallic conveyor). The water present in the salt is removed. The
water content in the salt is reduced to 1 - 2%. The dry salt is conveyed by Belt Conveyor and
fed to crusher for size reduction.
Storage Tanks are provided for the storage of brine.

Please also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EHH9XVVXoc

Schematic Diagram of Salt Washery Unit

Raw Salt

Belt Conveyor for raw salt feeding

Salt

1st Screw Classifier for insoluble impurities removal

Saturated Brine for Condensing Area

Salt

Unsaturated Brine

Woven Belt Conveyor for Moisture Removal

Washed Salt for Stacking / Crushing

Salt

2nd

Screw Classifier for soluble impurities removal

Saturated Brine

Salt Specifications BIS : 797 1982 (for Chemical Industries)

Grade 1
Grade 2
( On Dry Basis )
Sodium chloride (as NaCl), percent by mass, Min
99.5
98.5
Matter insoluble in water, percent by mass, Max
0.05
0.2
Calcium salts (as Ca), percent by mass, Max
0.03
0.2
Magnesium salts (as Mg), percent by mass, Max
0.01
0.1
Sulphates (as SO4), percent by mass, Max
0.20
0.6
Iron compound (as Fe), parts per million, Max
10
20
For use in the explosives and pyrotechnic industry, the material of Grade 2 shall also have the
following additional requirements
a)
Sulphate
0.5 percent, Max,
b)
Iron
10 parts per million, and
0.5 percent, Max
c)
Alkalinity (as Na2CO3)
For the manufacture of caustic soda by the electrolytic process, the material of Grade 2 shall
have the following additional requirements
Parts per Million, Max
a)
Vanadium + chromium + molybdenum
0.01
b)
Aluminium (as Al)
0.10
c)
Other trace metals like titanium, copper and nickel
0.01
Salt Specifications BIS 253:1985 (Third Revision) (for Edible Purpose)
% by wt. (dry basis)
Common Edible Grade Salt
Chloride as NaCl (Min)
96
Water Insoluble matter (Max)
1
Matter insoluble in water, other than NaCl (Max)
3

Average Analysis of Salt (Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan)

NaCl %(w/w)
Matter insoluble in water %(w/w)
Ca %(w/w)
Mg %(w/w)
Na2SO4 %(w/w)
Na2CO3 %(w/w)
NaHCO3 %(w/w)

Unwashed Salt
96 98
0.5 0.8
In traces
In traces
12
0.3 -0.8
0.2 0.4

Washed Salt
99.5
0.15
In traces
In traces
0.10
0.15
0.10

Average Analysis of Salt (Bhavnagar, Gujarat)

Sample Details
Unwashed salt
Washed salt
Sample Details
Unwashed salt
Washed salt
Sample Details
Unwashed salt
Washed salt

Whiteness
77
82
Ca++
% (w/w)
0.24
0.15

Mg++
% (w/w)
0.80
0.20

SO4-% (w/w)
1.10
0.47

Cl% (w/w)
56.71
58.00

K+
% (w/w)
0.11
0.03

CaSO4
% (w/w)
0.87
0.53

MgSO4
% (w/w)
0.68
0.15

MgCl2
% (w/w)
2.77
0.69

KCl
% (w/w)
0.22
0.06

NaCl
% (w/w)
96
98.58

Note: The raw salt having very low purity was used during trial runs to check the
performance of Salt Washery.

Lay out of Salt Washery (recently installed at CSIR CSMCRI)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Feed Hopper with Vibrating Feeder arrangement

Service Material (Feed)
Nature of feed
Particle Size
Type
Vibrating Feeder

Salt Crystals
Corrosive
10 - 50 mm
Rectangular Conical Type
Reputed make with variable speed drive
MS with SS / Rubber lining inside walls
Supporting Structure M.S. with epoxy coating

MOC

Belt Conveyor (for feeding of salt crystals into screw washer)

Belt
Salt Crystals

Type of Conveyor
Service Material
Nature
Particle Size

Corrosive
10 - 50 mm
MS Rubberlined
Idlers
HDPE
Carrying Idlers
HDPE
Self Allying Carrying Idlers
HDPE
Self Allying Return Idlers
HDPE
Return
Reinforced Neoprene / MSRL
Belt
M.S. with epoxy coating
Supporting Structure
Meeting BIS Standards
Internal & External Scrapper
Meeting BIS Standards
With liners in wear portion
Stringer fabrication out of rectangular pipe

MOC

Gear Box
Scrapper
Safety Switches
Discharge Hood & Chute
Structure

Supporting structure fabrication out of ISMC 100 X 50 with base plate 12 mm.

Motor
(With Variable Speed
Control)

1440

RPM

Meeting BIS standards, 3, 50 Hz., Motor duly covered

Woven Belt Conveyor

Type of Conveyor
Service Material
Nature
Particle Size
Angle of inclination
Number of feed points
Brine Trough
MOC

Woven Belt
Salt Crystals
Corrosive
10 - 50 mm
5

Deg

1
2 mm SS 304 Plate throughout the length
SS 304 Wire
(Suitable meshsize of belt should be used
Belt
so that only water is drained with
minimum salt loss)
MS Rubberlined
Idlers

Motor
(With Variable Speed
Control)

MS
MS + HDPE Sleeve
MS + HDPE Sleeve
M.S. with epoxy coating

Live Shaft Flat Impact Idler

Live Shaft Flat Carrying Idler
Live Shaft Flat Return Idler
Supporting Structure

1440

RPM

Meeting BIS standards, 3, 50 Hz., Motor duly covered

Screw Classifiers (complete with all accessories)

Type of Screw Classifier
Service Material
Nature
Particle Size
M.O.C.
M.O.C. of supporting
structure
Gear Box
Angle of inclination
Number of feed points
Duty Cycle
Motor
(With Variable Speed
Control)
Quantity

Single Screw Type

Salt Crystals
Corrosive
10 - 50 mm
Fabrication out of 3 mm MS Plate with 2 mm SS 304 cladding inside.
With fabrication out of ISMC 125 X 65ISA 65X6 with base plate 12 mm.
Meeting BIS Standards
5
1
24

hrs/day

1440

RPM

Deg

Meeting BIS standards, 3, 50 Hz., Motor duly covered

2 Nos.

Belt Conveyor
(for raw salt feeding)

Woven Belt Conveyor

(for Moisture removal)

Screw Classifiers
(for salt washing)

Belt Conveyor
(for salt stacking)

Screw Classifiers

Salt Washery Unit