saltworks

Saltworks are facilities dedicated to extracting salt from saline water, primarily through evaporation and crystallization. They range from traditional solar ponds along coastlines to modern industrial plants that rely on mechanical evaporation or underground brine mining. The primary product is common salt (sodium chloride), used for food, water treatment, and various industrial processes, with some operations producing specialty salts or potash-bearing brines for chemical industries.

In solar saltworks, seawater or brine is pumped into a sequence of shallow evaporation ponds. Sun and wind drive evaporation, concentrating the brine in stages. Gypsum may precipitate in early ponds, followed by halite as saturation increases. When sufficient crystals form, the salt is harvested from the pond floors using rakes or harvesters, washed, dried, and screened before packaging.

Coastal solar operations rely on natural evaporation; inland facilities may supplement with mechanical evaporation to speed concentration or use mineral brines from underground reservoirs. In some regions, salt deposits are exploited by mining rock salt, while solution mining injects hot water to dissolve underground salt and yields brine that is then evaporated.

Salt production has a long history dating to ancient civilizations. Solar ponds were common in the Mediterranean and Middle East, while industrialization introduced pumping, brine management, and modern harvesting equipment. Today, salt production is globally distributed, with large-scale plants coexisting with artisanal operations.

Environmental considerations include land and freshwater use, habitat disruption, and brine disposal. Regulations address brine salinity, sedimentation, and worker safety, while some regions encourage sustainable, low-energy, or solar-driven production.