Desalination by RO creates concentrated brine, which is then released into sea back. This causes environment problems. Why cant we use this brine for other process like salt harvesting etc, which requires brine?

Question

Recently I watched these videos which explains the negative impact of releasing concentrated Brine produced from RO Desalination plants back into Ocean.

1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfr82RB72U8&ab_channel=CNBC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfr82RB72U8&ab_channel=CNBC)
2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFIHecZDfc&ab_channel=TerraMater](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFIHecZDfc&ab_channel=TerraMater)

This got me thinking why can’t we use this brine in an commercial beneficial way, given that there are several industrial process that uses Brine as raw material. On top of my head I could think of Salt production, Caustic Soda production etc., Why is brine not used commercially? And what are the challenges and is there a solution?

In: Technology

Answer 1

The profits to be made processing brine into salt are low. If it’s cheaper to build a new salt processing plant next to a desalination plant, that could happen. However, moving an existing plant isn’t likely worth it and most commercial salt production is from underground deposits with much higher salinity.