The construction costs of brine ponds are high enough that they’re best employed for long term use, where the costs can be recovered through sales of recovered minerals or reduced disposal costs. However, brine is adaptable to so many uses that, over time, brine ponds can offer healthy returns on the initial investment:
- Mineral harvesting (or brine mining) for valuable minerals such as lithium, calcium, iodine, magnesium, potassium, and bromine.
- Capture of byproduct salts for industrial applications such as detergent manufacturing, dyeing, chemical production, curing, water treatment
- Sale or reuse of liquid brine as a secondary product for road deicing, dust control sprays, and animal mineral supplementation
- Use of brine as heat-transfer media in refrigeration and cooling systems or as a vapour-absorption agent
- Use in aquaculture to cultivate Spirulina
- Irrigation water for suitable forage shrubs and crops.
Brine evaporation ponds have significant advantages over alternative methods of brine disposal. Lined ponds with leakage sensors and secondary containment structures and protocols offer superior protection against soil and groundwater contamination. Brine containment and storage facilities prevent damage to natural ecosystems from dumping as well as mitigate risk to human and wildlife populations.
Where are Brine Ponds Not a Good Choice?
The effectiveness of evaporative brine ponds is highly dependent on local climate, which should be taken into consideration versus the risk and expense of transportation when choosing a site. Specifically, solar evaporation ponds aren’t an effective option where the climate is relatively cool or wet. Humidity and precipitation even in the moderate range will significantly suppress evaporation and extend the processing time for brine ponds, which in turn raises operating costs.
Land that is mountainous or expensive generally isn’t suitable for brine ponds. Locations where high winds are a regular occurrence or ground stability is in question (earthquakes, landslides or mudslides, etc.) present too many potential complications to be practical.
