Brine

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Brine is water saturated or nearly saturated with salt. It is used (now less popular than historically) to preserve vegetables, fish, and meat. Brine is also commonly used to age Feta Cheese. Although brine is used in preservation much like sugar or vinegar, it can be used to great effect in transportation. Brine is a common fluid used in the transport of heat from place to place. It is used because the addition of salt to water lowers the freezing temperature of the solution and a relatively great efficiency in the transport can be obtained for the low cost of the material. At a concentration of 23.31%, the freezing point of the solution is lowered to -21 °C (-6 °F), this is called the eutectic point.

At 60 °F (15.5 °C) saturated brine is 26.4% salt by weight (100 degree SAL). At 0 °C (32 °F) brine can only hold 23.3% salt.

Water salinity based on dissolved salts in parts per thousand (‰)
Fresh water	Brackish water	Saline water	Brine
< 0.5 ‰	0.5 - 30 ‰	30 - 50 ‰	> 50 ‰

[edit] Industrial use of brines

Brines are also used in the pharmaceutical industry. In the pharma industry the types used are the Salt based & the Solvent based.

The electrolysis of brine is used in chloralkali processes to make sodium hydroxide, chlorine and hydrogen as well as the production of hypochlorite and chlorate salts on an industrial scale. It is also used in the Solvay process to produce sodium carbonate, and in the solution mining of salt from underground deposits.

Brine is also used to pretreat roads for winter storms. The solvent is poured onto the roadways along with actual salt pellets to create a safer roadway when winter weather is in the forecast.

Brine is also used in removing heat from ice surfaces. Such as those in hockey rinks around the world. The Brine is cycled through the refrigeration plant and returned under the slab of ice at a colder temperature. Brine is used in cruise vessels cooling systems.

[edit] See also

• Brining
• Sea salt
• Salt pan
• Sea water
• Salinity
• Spines in Brine
• Brine lakes
• Brine pools
• Brine ponds

Brines are also used in the offshore oil and gas industry where a pipeline prior to commissioning is flooded with a meg/brine mix to prevent the formation of hyrates on production start up. This is dependent on the well properties. It is useful to refrigeration and heating.