Abstract
We have developed a new method of manufacturing salts by horizontal spray drying technique, using the concentrated deep ocean water after desalination processes. We studied the chemical characteristics of the spray-dried salts. Sodium content in the spray salts is $28.4\%$, which is $10-30\%$ lower than that of bay salts, bamboo salts and boiling salts $(32-38.2\%)$. However, the contents of magnesium, potassium and calcium of the spray salts are 2.5 times, 3 times and 4.5 times higher relative to those of bay salts, respectively. On the one hand, sulfur content in spray salts is 14 times lower than those of bay salts, which is caused by their volatilization during spray and vaporization of the concentrated seawater. Enrichment factors of Mg (0.8), K (0.9) and Ca (1.0) in the spray salts are relatively higher than those in bay salt (0.2-0.3), bamboo salt (0.15-0.4) and boiled salt (0.4-0.7), respectively. On the contrary, enrichment factor of sulfur in spray salts is observed to be 0.07, which is considerably lower than those in other salts (0.3-0.7). It means that the minerals like Mg, K and Ca can be well conserved from seawater to salts through spray drying techniques, while volatile elements like sulfur, lead, mercury and organic compounds can be easily removed from seawater via spray and heating processes.
