The salinity

The salinity (content of salts) of the soil and a high degree of saturation of the sorption complex by sodium may greatly affect physico-chemical, chemical and biological characteristics of the soil and can thus considerably reduce its fertility. 

A high soil salinity, or higher amounts of soluble salts, represents an enhanced content of the inorganic portion soluble in water. A saline soil is one in which the saturated aqueous extract has a specific electric conductivity greater than 4 mS cm at 25°C, where the Na content is less than one half of the sum of cations of soluble salts and the pH is below 8.5. When the Na content increases, the other factors remaining constant, then we consider the soil to exhibit so-called alkaline salinity. 

The salinity may be determined directly as a total content of water-soluble salts, or as a sum of contents of particular ions. The measurement of the specific electric resistance of the soil is a very rough, but simple and rapid method. It is used for soil surveys on a wide scale. For achieving more precise results, it is possible to use a method standardized by measuring the resistance in saturated soil paste (the soil paste is prepared by mixing a soil sample with distilled water to obtain a moderately liquefied paste) and the results are corrected with respect to a temperature of 16°C. Tables are used to convert the measured electrical resistance values to the soil concentration. For more precise data, it is possible to separate the solution from the saturated soil paste and to measure the specific electric conductivity. The solution separated from the soil paste is called the saturated soil extract. 

---

Data gathering in the water column should not be overlooked at the appraisal stage of the field life. Assessing the size and flow properties of the aquifer are essential in predicting the pressure support which may be provided. Sampling of the formation water is necessary to assess the salinity of the water for use in the determination of hydrocarbon saturations. 

Hydrogen reacts direcdy with a number of metallic elements to form hydrides (qv). The ionic or saline hydrides ate formed from the reaction of hydrogen with the alkali metals and with some of the alkaline-eartb metals. The saline hydrides ate salt-like in character and contain the hydride, ie,, ion. Saline hydrides form when pure metals and H2 react at elevated temperatures (300—700°C). Examples of these reactions ate... 

The saline hydrides ate very reactive and ate strong reducing agents. AH saline hydrides decompose in water, often violently, to form hydrogen ... 

An alternative to this process is low (<10 N/m (10 dynes /cm)) tension polymer flooding where lower concentrations of surfactant are used compared to micellar polymer flooding. Chemical adsorption is reduced compared to micellar polymer flooding. Increases in oil production compared to waterflooding have been observed in laboratory tests. The physical chemistry of this process has been reviewed (247). Among the surfactants used in this process are alcohol propoxyethoxy sulfonates, the stmcture of which can be adjusted to the salinity of the injection water (248). 

Numerous theories exist as to how the Chilean deposits formed and survived. It has been postulated that the unique nitrate-rich caUche deposits of northern Chile owe their existence to an environment favorable to accumulation and preservation of the deposits, rather than to any unusual source of the saline materials (2). The essential conditions are an extremely arid climate similar to that of the Atacama desert in the 1990s, slow accumulation during the late Tertiary and Quaternary periods, and a paucity of nitrate-utilizing plants and soil microorganisms. 

Salinity, S(%e), is defined as the weight ia grams of the dissolved inorganic matter ia 1 kg of seawater after all Br and 1 have been replaced by the equivalent quantity of Cl and HCO3 and ate converted to oxide. In over 97% of the seawater ia the world, the salinity S is between 33%c and... 

Minimal Energy Requirements. The relative effect of the cost of the energy on the cost of the freshwater produced depends on local conditions, and is up to one-half of the total. In attempting to reduce this cost, it is of interest to determine the minimal energy amount thermodynamically needed for separating the water from the saline solution. The physical background to this will be introduced in a simple example. Because of the negligible... 

Saline waters, including seawater, contain, besides a variety of inorganic salts, also organic materials and various particles. They differ in composition from site to site, and also change with time as a result of both natural and human causes. Design and operation of desalination plants requires good knowledge of the saline water composition and properties (41,44). 

The ice crystals must be separated from the saline solution surrounding them, and washed with freshwater. This is accompHshed by a downward countercurrent flow of a small amount of freshwater through the ice slurry in the washer—melter unit. Keeping that unit at about 0°C limits the needed pressure rise by the compressor to only about 130—260 Pa, and an auxiUary refrigerator is often used to compensate for heat gains from the ambient and the compression. 

The pressure to be used for reverse osmosis depends on the salinity of the feedwater, the type of membrane, and the desired product purity. It ranges from about 1.5 MPa for low feed concentrations or high flux membranes, through 2.5—4 MPa for brackish waters, and to 6—8.4 MPa for seawater desalination. In desalination of brackish or sea water, typical product water fluxes through spiral-wound membranes are about 600—800 kg/m /d at a recovery ratio RR of 15% and an average salt rejection of 99.5%, where... 

Electrodialysis. In electro dialysis (ED), the saline solution is placed between two membranes, one permeable to cations only and the other to anions only. A direct electrical current is passed across this system by means of two electrodes, causiag the cations ia the saline solution to move toward the cathode, and the anions to the anode. As shown ia Figure 15, the anions can only leave one compartment ia their travel to the anode, because a membrane separating them from the anode is permeable to them. Cations are both excluded from one compartment and concentrated ia the compartment toward the cathode. This reduces the salt concentration ia some compartments, and iacreases it ia others. Tens to hundreds of such compartments are stacked together ia practical ED plants, lea ding to the creation of alternating compartments of fresh and salt-concentrated water. ED is a continuous-flow process, where saline feed is continuously fed iato all compartments and the product water and concentrated brine flow out of alternate compartments. 

Because water of depths below about 2 m does not absorb much solar radiation direcdy, the radiation is absorbed and converted to heat primarily in the basin floor, which thus should have high radiative absorptance in the solar radiation spectmm. It is also noteworthy that if the stUl is designed to have low heat losses to the ambient, and if the ambient temperature drops, distillation will continue for some time even in the absence of solar energy input, because the saline water may remain warmer than the condensing glass surface and thus continue evaporating. 

These items are highly site specific. Power cost is low because the salinity removed by the selected plant is low. The quality of the feed water, its sahnity, turbidity, and concentration of problematic ionic and fouhng solutes, is a major variable in pretreatment and in conver-... 

Capital Costs A typical medium-scale RO seawater plant might produce 0.25 mVs (6 MGD). For a plant with an open sea intake, seawater salinity of 38 g/1, and conversion of 45 percent, the overall cost woiild be 26.5 miUiou (1996). A capital breakdown is given in Table 22-18. Capital charges are site specific, and are sensitive to the salinity of the feed. A plant of this size would likely contain six trains. For seawater RO, the Best estimate for the slopes of the family of lines in Fig. 22-55 is —0.6 for the equipment and 0.95 for the membranes. Capital charges, shown in TaBle 22-19, usually dominate the overall economics the numbers presented are only an example. Seawater economics are based on Shields and Moch, Am. Desalination Assn. Conf. Monterey CA (1996). 

The saline residue on the filter is extracted once again with 50 ml. of boiling absolute ethanol. On concentrating the filtrate from the second extraction and the mother liquor from the first crystallizate to a small volume, a second crop (4-6 g.) of product is obtained. The yield of the hydroxyurea is 10-14 g. (53-73%) of white crystals, m.p. 137-141° (dec.). 

The foregoing theoretical overburden pressure gradient assumes that the sedimentary deposits together with the saline water are a mixture of materials and fluid. Such a mixture could be considered as a fluid with a new specific weight of... 

Total Salinity. The salinity control of oil-base mud is very important for stabilizing water-sensitive shales and clays. Depending upon the ionic concentration of the shale waters and of the mud water phase, an osmotic flow of pure water from the weaker salt concentration (in shale) to the stronger salt concentration (in mud) will occur. This may cause a dehydration of the shale and, consequently, affect its stabilization. 

Common salt, or sodium chloride, is also present in dissolved form in drilling fluids. Levels up to 3,000 mg/L chloride and sometimes higher are naturally present in freshwater muds as a consequence of the salinity of subterranean brines in drilled formations. Seawater is the natural source of water for offshore drilling muds. Saturated brine drilling fluids become a necessity when drilling with water-based muds through salt zones to get to oil and gas reservoirs below the salt. 

Fraker, A. C., Effect of Solution pH on the Saline Water Corrosion of Titanium Alloys , Proc. 

Variations of salinity In the major oceans the salinity of sea water does not vary widely, lying in general between 33 and 37 parts per thousand, a figure of 35 parts per thousand, equivalent to 19-4 parts per thousand chlorinity is commonly taken as the average for open-sea water. 

Local conditions may modify this profoundly in special areas. In the Arctic and Antarctic, and where there is dilution by large rivers, the salinity may be considerably less, and it may vary greatly according to season. Salinity is well below normal in the Baltic, and may fall nearly to zero at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia. In enclosed seas like the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Red Sea, on the other hand, where there is rapid evaporation, salinity may reach 40 parts per thousand. The total salt content of the inland Dead Sea is 260 g/kg compared to 37 g/kg for the Atlantic Ocean. 

---