Dead Sea, Israel, Jordan

The TDS of lake waters can be high because of evaporation, as in the Great Salt Lake of Utah or the Dead Sea (Israel/Jordan). Well waters often contain high concentrations of electrolytes leached from the rocks—notably iron salts, which are a major nuisance—and the highly saline waters associated with oil- or gas-bearing formations are frequently better described as brines. 

The most important deposits are in Arkansas (USA) and the Dead Sea (Israel/Jordan). 

In order to use fluid inclusions from lacustrine halites for detailed paleoclimate interpretations, it is important to have air temperature and water temperature records from the study area. The modern records serve as the reference against which fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures are compared. Information on the temperatures of saline lakes in Africa and Canada may be found in Hammer (1986). Other sources of saline lake temperatures are Carpelan (1958) for the Salton Sea, California, Eubank Brough (1980) for Great Salt Lake, Utah Smith et al. (1987) for Owens Lake, California, Gavrieli et al. (1989) for the Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan, and Casas et al. (1992) for Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, China. 

Dead Sea area (Jordan Valley Rift)—kerogens, bitumens, immature asphalts and bituminous rocks (Senonian Formation, Israel)... 

Let us first look at the terrestrial waters, lakes, and rivers. The total amount of the terrestrial waters on the Earth is about 5 x lO kg. With a few exceptions like Great Salt Lake and Dead Sea (in Jordan/Israel), the terrestrial waters contain relatively low levels of dissolved ionic species (low salinity). Though it varies widely, the salinity of river waters has been estimated on average as about 100 ppm (that is, 100 g of ionic compounds of various kinds per 1 million grams (1 m volume) of water). On average, the contents of various elements (compounds) in rivers are HCOj" (bicarbonate anion) >Si(OH) (silicate) >Ca +>SO/ >CL>Na > Mg +. These ions come dissolved from the rocks and soils through which the river water runs. 

Calcium Chloride Lakes The Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan... 

Soluble Salt Flotation. KCl separation from NaCl and media containing other soluble salts such as MgCl (eg, The Dead Sea works in Israel and Jordan) or insoluble materials such as clays is accompHshed by the flotation of crystals using amines as coUectors. The mechanism of adsorption of amines on soluble salts such as KCl has been shown to be due to the matching of coUector ion size and lattice vacancies (in KCl flotation) as well as surface charges carried by the soflds floated (22). Although cation-type coUectors (eg, amines) are commonly used, the utUity of sulfonates and carboxylates has also been demonstrated in laboratory experiments. 

A second source of brine is found in terminal lakes. The Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan is an example of a large terminal lake with almost unlimited supphes of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. Mote than two and a half million tons of potassium chloride ate extracted from the Dead Sea each year. 

In the UK workable potash deposits are confined to the Cleveland-North Yorkshire bed which is 11 m thick and has reserves of >500million tonnes. Massive recovery is also possible from brines e.g. Jordan has a huge plant capable of recovering up to a million tonnes pa from the Dead Sea and the annual production by this country and by Israel now matches that of the USA and France. 

Potassium does not occur in nature in tlie free state because of its great chemical reactivity. The major basic potash chemical used as a source of potassium is potassium chloride, KC1. The potassium content of all potash sources generally is given in terms of the oxide K2O. The majority of potash produced comes from mineral deposits that were formed by llie evaporation of prehistoric lakes and seas which had become enriched in potassium salts leached from the soil, In addition ro natural deposits of potassium salts, large concentrations of potassium also are found in some bodies of water, including the Great Salt Lake and the Salduro Marsh in Utah, the Dead Sea between Israel and Jordan, and Searles Lake in California. All of these brines are used for the commercial production of potash. 

A different type of river salinization in a dryland environment is represented by the Jordan River Basin along the border between Israel and Jordan. A 10-fold reduction of surface water flow in the Jordan River ((50-200) X 10 m today relative to —1,400 X 10 m in historical times) and intensification of shallow groundwater discharge resulted in the salinization of the Jordan River. During August 2001, the salinity of the southern end of the Jordan River, just before its confluence into the Dead Sea, reached 11 g L a quarter of the Mediterranean seawater salinity. Based on Na/Cl, Br/Cl, Sr/ Sr, S B, Ssuifate, and 5l Owater. ( B = [( B/ 1°B),ample/... 

In some regions, the abundance of bromine is even higher. For example, the Dead Sea (which borders Israel and Jordan), has a high level of dissolved salts. The abundance of bromine there is estimated to be 4,000 parts per million. The salinity, or salt content, is so high that nothing lives in the water. That fact explains how the Dead Sea got its name. 

One of the sources of magnesium is seawater. It is processed in various locations in the United States and the world. Pictured here is the Dead Sea, which is bordered by Israel and Jordan in the Middle East. Much saltier than the oceatit the Dead Sea is rich in magiesium. lAAAGE COPYRIGHT 2009, MYTHO. USED UNDER LICENSE FROM SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. 

In the Middle East, the first phase of expansion at Arab Potash Company of Jordan was completed in July 1994 with a capacity of 1.1 million tpy K2O. The second phase of expansion will result in a capacity of 1.34 million tpy K2O by 1998. Dead Sea Works, Israel, planned a capacity increase to 1.5 million tpy KgO by... 

The Dead Sea is one of the world s largest and lowest inland lakes, containing a concentrated calcium-magnesium-sodium-potassium chloride brine, with about 10 ppm Li (Table 1.9) and reserves of about 2 milUon tons of Li. The brine is commercially evaporated in large solar ponds to produce potash in both Israel and Jordan, and their pond end-liquors often contain about 30 ppm Li. Some of this brine is processed for bromine and magnesia recovery, but most of it is merely returned to the sea. Because of its ready availability and potential value several laboratory studies have been made on lithium recovery from it, but without economic success. 

---