Heat from the ground, flakes from the sea
In Reykjanes in Iceland’s Westfjords, salt makers harvest crystals from pans of concentrated seawater. Saltverk uses the nearby hot springs for three stages of production, from warming the incoming water to drying the flakes.
IS IcelandIn practice. At Saltverk, geothermal heat is part of the process that concentrates seawater until salt crystals form.
What to keep in view
The geothermal heat described here is used in production at Reykjanes. Packaging and transport are separate parts of the product’s footprint.
Three jobs for geothermal heat
The first job is to preheat the seawater. As it evaporates in the pans, the remaining brine becomes more concentrated and salt crystals form. The worker in the photograph gathers the crystals. Heat is used again to dry them.
Why make it here?
Saltverk’s account traces the method to an earlier saltworks in Reykjanes. The location puts the raw material and the source of heat together. For a producer elsewhere, the question is whether a steady local heat source can do the same work at each stage.
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