How is the table salt made?

Sodium. Without it the human body could not function properly. It is an element that regulates water and electrolyte balance in our bodies, but it also affects proper functioning of muscles. We usually get the sodium from food. A majority of people believe that it originates from the salt consumed in our food. This is not quite the case, as many products contain sodium in them and we eat it unconsciously. Today, however, it is not the sodium content of food that we want to write about, but the salt. How is the table salt made? Are the brewed salt and table salt actually the same salt?

 

What is the table salt?

Salt, the sodium chloride is obtained from salt mines. Rock salt was produced long ago, at a time when the earth was covered by seas. As the climate warmed, the sea water evaporated. The salt transformed into sodium crystals, which were covered by rocks as a result of tectonic movements of the earth's crust. This is how the rock salt deposits were formed, which are brought to the surface by mining techniques in salt mines. From salt deposits, the chemical industry obtains, among others, the caustic soda and chlorine.

The salt extracted from the mine is crushed, sieved and, depending on further processing, road salt - industrial or table salt (food salt) is produced. Table salt is obtained from the brine from mined and ground salt crystal. The brine is purified by adding calcium, hydroxide and sodium carbonate. The solution is then evaporated to obtain purified salt crystals. The salt, during the extraction, purification and evaporation process is enriched with the potassium iodide. Table salt is enriched with the potassium iodide at an amount of 30±10 mg in 1 kg of the table salt.

 

What is the difference between the table salt and the sea salt?

The rock salt is obtained from salt mines and by evaporating the sea water from the brine obtained from crushed salt lumps. Sea salt, on the other hand, is extracted from the saline water on an ongoing basis. Table salt itself is known by many names:

• unpurified salt,
• brewed salt,
• purified salt,
• iodized salt,
• rock salt,
• sea salt,
• table salt.

Table salt is otherwise known as the food salt. The one we call natural, the unpurified salt, is free of any enhancers and anti-caking agents. It is obtained naturally, and can take different colors from gray to pink or blue. Its different color results from the content of different concentrations of minerals, not artificial enhancers.

Evaporated salt is purified rock salt, devoid of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc or manganese. The nomenclature of salt types is sometimes, as you can see, overused. Brewed salt, or iodized salt, has an intensely salty taste and contains practically only sodium chloride and added iodine. Generally speaking, the rock salt is unpurified salt obtained from the crushed rock, and iodized salt is brewed salt obtained from a brine to which iodine has been added.

In addition to organic salts, we offer high-quality chemical raw materials with a wide range of applications. For substances such as sodium hypochlorite, Tomchem wholesale store from Łódź provides certificates and product data sheets. Feel invited to cooperate with us.

See also: ROAD SALT - CHARACTERISTICS