mmmmm french fries
I received this question from a reader of Tampa’s favorite blog:
Why don’t they recover the salt from the Desal plant to use as table salt and other things?
Salt mining on land is harmful to the environment, but getting salt from seawater is ok. Not only that, but people usually pay a premium for sea salt (I am among them)
It would seem to me that it would be fairly easy to filter out the salt residue, purify it, collect it, and sell it off from the Desal plant. I would think there would be so much, it would create such a surplus it would put land-based salt mines out of business (which would be good, environmentally) They could help reduce the cost of salt, And the sales might help offset the cost?
Bryan Otto,
Winter Haven (soon to be St Pete) Fl.
Hey Bryan, thanks for asking. Here’s your answer:
I have no clue.
I do know that table salt is among the least expensive condiments in the world. In fact, take a look at the table salt in little packets you get at your favorite fast food joint. I ‘ve heard it costs more to create the little packets than the salt that is inside.
I would guess that if the price of salt were as much as, oh, say gasoline, there would be someone looking into the issue. Then again, gasoline is as much as gasoline, and they ain’t doin’ much for that, are they?
As to the environmental concerns, well, you can again compare salt to gasoline to see how much it matters.
Tampa Desalination sites:
Tampa Bay Water
Save Our Bays, Air and Canals (anti-desal plant) has disbanded.
About the Tampa Desal plant
If anyone can give Bryan a better answer, please feel free to help us out!!
Tags: development, environment, tampa
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November 10th, 2005 at 10:20 pm
And to think salt used to be the currency of nations… people were paid in salt… hence the word “salary”
November 10th, 2005 at 10:22 pm
The name of the salt is based on where it came from. Salt obtained from seawater cannot by definition be called table salt but sea salt. Check out Food TV for more
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_culinary_qa/article/0,1971,FOOD_9796_1696168,00.html
November 10th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
i’m no expert but i’ve written a lot about desal in the past. i’m not familiar with the process the tampa plant is using but the common method usually involves pushing the water at a very high-pressure through what can be described as a very fine membrane, sort of like a super micro-cheescloth. the by product of this process is a salty, gunky substance that is somewhat toxic and can even be radioactive (because of certain minerals/chemicals in the water). not sure i would sprinkle that on my flies. desal by itself is a very expensive process. i’d guess removing the salt from this gunk and making it edible wouldn’t be cheap. usually, they inject this stuff deep into the ground.
November 10th, 2005 at 11:39 pm
er, that should have been sprinkle that on “my fries.”
November 11th, 2005 at 12:33 am
Hey, don’t knock salted flies until you’ve tried them.
I think you made the biggest point - it’s not cheap. If you’ve ever looked at sea salt at your local market, it’s never cheap.
November 11th, 2005 at 2:01 am
I think the term “salt” applies to various compounds that can be referred to as a salt not necessarily just table salt.
November 11th, 2005 at 8:01 am
GOODY GOODY
Had something of a blog summit on Thursday. I read over at Sticks of Fire that Tommy was going to be supping at Goody Goody so I offered to invade the sanctity of his lunch and he obliged. Goody Goody is closing in a couple weeks. Seems they’ve sold …
November 11th, 2005 at 8:08 am
GOODY GOODY GOODBYE
Had something of a blog summit on Thursday. I read over at Sticks of Fire that Tommy was going to be supping at Goody Goody so I offered to invade the sanctity of his lunch and he obliged. Goody Goody is closing in a couple weeks. Seems they’ve sold …
November 13th, 2005 at 12:19 am
Thanks for the input, and the great links for the plant. After reading about the studies they conducted regarding bay salinity, I’m no longer concerned that the desalination plant will make the water too salty. That had always been my fear, and the whole reason I proposed they save the salt, rather than pump it back into the bay. Now I just hope they get it renovated and working soon!
November 18th, 2005 at 12:34 am
Mexicans have been getting salt from the ocean at least since 1985. Why can’t the big giant USA do it? We need the water, especially in the south and the salt can be used as condiments, ingredients and even a way to melt ice during the winter in our Northern states. Desalinization plants only make sense. Let’s use the most abundant resource within environmental reason instead of depleting our aquifers until the earth literally caves i.e. sink holes.