Salt.
Throughout history, salt wells have been used to dissolve underground deposits of halite and extract it as brine. A typical salt well consists of a pipe that has been drilled into a bed or dome of salt, water, pumping equipment, and sometimes the infrastructure needed for evaporation. The process of extracting halite from a salt well usually involves pumping water into a tank, which can dissolve it in a brine solution. This solution can then be pumped to the surface and sold in solution or exposed to an evaporation process to result in a dry, granular salt product.
Historically, salt pits were used to tan leather, as salt is a preservative.
Salt has been used throughout history as a dietary supplement and condiment, and also for utilitarian uses such as leather tanning and meat preservation. Evidence of salt mining was discovered as early as the 4th century BC. C. in China, although it is likely that the process existed even earlier. In ancient China, salt deposits were usually reached through bamboo holes buried deep in the ground. Due to the difficulty of extracting salt using ancient technology and the widespread nature of halite deposits and salt domes, it was an important commodity for much of early human history.
Most salt beds and domes are 500 to 1,000 feet (150 to 1,500 meters) below the surface, and natural salt springs are one of the ways that new salt wells have traditionally been located. Salt. In these places, artesian wells coincide with salt domes, and the water dissolves some of the salt as it percolates to the surface. When drilling in the nearby area, the tubes can be extended in the salt dome to facilitate the extraction process. When water is pumped into a salt bed or dome, it tends to dissolve the mineral into a brine solution within an empty space known as a salt cave. The brine can then be pumped out of the cave to evaporate into salt crystals or used in various industrial applications.
The brine from a salt pit usually evaporates on the spot. This was traditionally achieved by pottery or iron pot methods, although a variety of modern techniques are now used. In other cases, the brine can be piped to an external processing plant. Some chemical plants also employ on-site captive brine wells so that salt solution for various chemical processes can be purchased conveniently. One use for a captive salt pit is the chlor-alkali process, which uses electrolysis to remove hydrogen, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide from brine.