A compendium of evaporation techniques for salt production from seawater and sub-soil brine

Common salt (NaCl) is one of the most important minerals for all living beings and an integral part of the history of humankind. The salt journey from one of the expensive trading commodities to the cheapest commodity has given enormous applications. This is a basic raw material for chlor-alkali and soda ash industries and is required for daily human consumption. The traditional method of harvesting salt relies on the rate of brine evaporation utilizing free solar energy. The demand for salt is steadily rising due to its various applications, including most industrial applications. To meet the rising demand for salt, increasing the rate of brine evaporation is one of the possible viable strategies to improve the yield of solar salt production. This paper summarizes numerous enhanced brine evaporation approaches, including experimental, theoretical, and modelling studies, to highlight the evolution of the approaches in this area of research. The various governing factors that influence brine evaporation, salt production and challenges are also highlighted. Finally, known experimental techniques to improve the rate of evaporation are compared.