Search results for "Brine"

Evaluation of saltwork ponds operation through brine characterization and geochemical modelling using PHREEQC code integrating the Pitzer correction

2021

Seawater represents a potential resource for the extraction of salts and raw materials [1]. About one-third of the global table-salt production is manufactured in solar saltworks [2], being the most representative product of seawater processing. However, other valuable compounds such as Magnesium, Lithium and trace elements belonging to the alkaline/alkaline-earth metals (e.g. Rb, Cs, Sr) and transition/post-transition metals (e.g. Co, Ga, Ge) are present. Many of these elements are included in the EU Critical Raw Materials (CRM) list, grouping natural assets classified as fundamental for the wealth of the socio-economic structure of Europe [3]. In saltworks, natural evaporation of seawater…

Mining minerals and critical raw materials from bittern: Understanding metal ions fate in saltwork ponds

2022

Seawater represents a potential resource for raw materials extraction. Although NaCl is the most representative mineral extracted other valuable compounds such as Mg, Li, Sr, Rb and B and elements at trace level (Cs, Co, In, Sc, Ga and Ge) are also contained in this “liquid mine”. Most of them are considered as Critical Raw Materials by the European Union. Solar saltworks, providing concentration factors of up-to 20 to 40, offer a perfect platform for the development of minerals and metal recovery schemes taking benefit of the concentration and purification achieved along the evaporation saltwork ponds. However, the geochemistry of these elements in this environment has not been yet thoroug…

Phytochemical Constituents, Antioxidant Activity, and Toxicity Assessment of the Aerial Part Extracts from the Infraspecific Taxa of Matthiola frutic…

2021

In a project designed to investigate the specific and infraspecific taxa of Matthiola endemic to Sicily (Italy) as new potential sources of bioactive compounds in this work, the infraspecific taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa were studied, namely, subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia. HPLC–PDA/ESI–MS and SPME–GC/MS analyses of hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of the two subspecies led to the detection of 51 phenolics and 61 volatile components, highlighting a quite different qualitative–quantitative profile. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were explored through in vitro methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power and Fe2+ chelating activ…

Societal and economic aspects of a novel circular system for the valorisation of desalination brine and waste heat from a power plant

2022

Direct disposal of concentrate brines produced in industrial plants can have a relevant impact to environmental systems. For this reason, brine treatment and valorisation could help to avoid disposal and produce marketable salts, thus representing a possible economic benefit. With this aim, a novel process, where advanced separation technologies are combined with waste heat recovery, is proposed within the EU-funded WATER MINING project. The Case Study presented in this work concerns the power plant in Lampedusa island, where waste heat and desalination brine are available to implement the process via a pilot plant to be installed for alternative thermal treatment of the brine. The aim is t…

A feasibility study of table salt production from seawater reverse osmosis brine

2022

Zooming on the exergetic cost formation process of a Multiple-Effects-Evaporation (MEE) desalination plant

2009

In this paper an advanced energetic and thermoeconomic analysis of a Multiple Effect Evaporation (MEE) process is proposed. Starting from the thermochemical fundamentals of desalination processes, a minimum theoretical work of separation is introduced, to be used as reference condition to assess the efficiency of desalination units. The attention is then focused on a forward feed MEE configuration; by abandoning the usual perspective oriented to analyse the system at an “overall plant” level, a zooming strategy is proposed to understand in depth the margins for systems’ improvement. Focusing on a single effect, different subprocesses and their mutual interactions are correctly recognized to…

Scale-up of electrodialysis with bipolar membrane (EDBM) unit for valorisation of waste brine by experimental analysis

2022

Thermogalvanic effects on the corrosion of copper in heavy brine LiBr solutions

2012

Thermogalvanic corrosion of copper in heavy brine LiBr solutions has been investigated using a zero-resistance ammeter (ZRA). The temperature gradients between copper electrodes immersed in the same LiBr solution result in the formation of thermogalvanic cells with hot anodes, leading to high and sustained thermogalvanic currents. Copper loss rates, calculated using Faraday's law, substantially exceed 0.025mmyear -1, a value regarded as the threshold of low corrosion rates. The effects of thermogalvanic coupling on the surface properties of the anode and the cathode have been analysed by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results obtained in this analysis have been r…

Passive and transpassive behaviour of Alloy 31 in a heavy brine LiBr solution

2013

The passive and transpassive behaviour of Alloy 31, a highly alloyed austenitic stainless steel (UNS N08031), has been investigated in a LiBr heavy brine solution (400 g/l) at 25 °C using potentiostatic polarisation combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Mott–Schottky analysis. The passive film formed on Alloy 31 has been found to be p-type and/or n-type in electronic character, depending on the film formation potential. The thickness of the film formed at potentials within the passive region increases linearly with applied potential. The film formed at transpassive potentials is thinner and more conductive than the film formed within the passive region. These observations…

Acid and alkaline production from multi-ionic brines via Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes

2022

In recent years, a great attention has grown towards the brine valorization through chemicals production and mineral recovery as an alternative to conventional disposal. Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes (EDBM) is an emerging process that can be used for the production of alkaline and acidic solutions from salt solutions. Within the SEArcularMINE project framework, the exploitation of saltworks bitterns (highly concentrated solutions generated during the sea-salt production process) is proposed for minerals recovery and NaOH and HCl solutions production. In this work, an EDBM unit, equipped with commercial ion exchange membranes, was tested for the first time in closed-loop mode with: …