Salt

=Salt = Although we use it every day and scarcely think about it, salt plays an essential role in human health, in manufacturing, and even in moderating global climate. Salt was once considered so valuable it was used for money; our English word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt. Before the discovery of large salt deposits underground, the most common way to obtain salt was through evaporation of salt or briny water. Historians have found evidence that as early as 8,000 years ago, rival tribes in northern China would fight over the salt that appeared when a salt water lake underwent its regular seasonal evaporation. The usual method for obtaining salt in cooler, wetter climates required the boiling of salt water in clay pots. This is an energy-intensive technique which is why salt was so costly. The expression to be "worth one's salt" originated with the Romans, who paid their soldiers an allowance of salt. The Romans established saltworks throughout their empire on marshes, seashores, and briny springs. More than sixty salt works from Roman times have been identified. The salting of slaughtered animals may have begun as a religious practice, but it was soon discovered that salted meat lasts longer before spoiling (salt creates an environment that is toxic to microorganisms, preventing their growth). As a food preservative, salt has played a crucial role in human history. For example, salted fish allowed mariners to explore the world's oceans, without having to rely on the availability of local catches. Before refrigeration, salt curing was the only way to preserve meat and fish. In the American Revolutionary War, the colonists faced a serious shortage of salt because Britain was their major source of salt. In 1777, the Revolutionary government established a committee to ?devise ways and means of supplying the United States with salt.? Salt enhances the flavor of food and a person's taste buds are very receptive to salt. Humans (and other animals) probably evolved to enjoy the taste of salt because salt is necessary for body functioning. Salt maintains the electrolyte balance between the fluid inside and outside of cells; without this balance, osmotic pressure would cause our cells to either explode or dehydrate and shrivel. As athletes know, fighting dehydration requires the consumption of salt as well as water. Historically, groups that subsisted from hunting usually got enough salt from the blood of the animals they ate; however, agricultural populations that subsisted on grains and other vegetables that are low in sodium had to find other sources of salt. The salt that is used for food is sodium chloride (NaCl), although there are many other compounds in nature that are salts, such as magnesium chloride and sodium sulfate. Salt is defined as an ionic compound formed by the reaction between an acid and a base. An acid is a substance that contributes hydrogen ions, H+, to a solution. A base is a substance that contributes hydroxyl ions: OH- to a solution. When an acid meets a base, they neutralize one another: H+ and OH- combine to form water, and the remaining ions join to form a salt. For example, hydrochloric acid (HCl) reacts with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to form the salt sodium chloride (NaCl) and water (H2O):

HCl + NaOH --- NaCl + H20.

Salt is formed in the ocean. Rivers that flow into the ocean carry minerals from the weathering of rocks, including silicates, carbonates, and positive ions of sodium, calcium, and potassium (the alkali metals). A second source of raw materials is volcanoes on the ocean floor, which spew out hydrogen and negative chloride ions. These raw ingredients become paired through various biological and chemical processes. Ocean water contains an average of 2.6 percent NaCl by weight, or a little less than a quarter pound of salt for every gallon of sea water. Variations in the salinity of the oceans, along with variations in temperature, drive the great ocean currents that transport heat around the globe. This //thermohaline// circulation (//thermo// for heat and //haline// for salt) is one of the driving forces of the Earth's climate system. About 37 grams of salt can be dissolved in 100 grams of water (the exact amount depends on the temperature of the water); this is the maximum saltiness of water. At higher concentrations, the salt begins to form crystals on the surface of the water. Geologists believe that inland salt deposits, known as rock salt or halite, originated as the residue of sea water that became enclosed by land millions of years ago, then evaporated. The resulting beds of salt were sometimes buried by layers of rock from other types of sedimentation; in other places they remained on the surface (as in the Bonneville salt flats of Utah). Salt beds range in thickness from a few feet to several hundred feet; subterranean salt domes result when pressure from surrounding rock strata force salt beds to flow upward. These salt domes contain vast quantities of salt which are mined by excavation. Some salt mines dating from the 15th century in Poland and Austria have miles upon miles of tunnels. The Dürnberg mine near the Austrian town of Saltzburg, which means ?salt town,? was originally mined by ancients Celts over 2,500 years ago. Another method of harvesting salt, called solution mining, is to drill into an underground salt dome, and then pump water into the hole. This dissolves some of the salt, forming a cavern filled with salt water, or brine. The brine is then pumped to the surface and transported by pipeline to an evaporating plant, consisting of a series of boilers and vacuum pumps. This method has the collateral benefit of leaving an empty cavern which can then be used to store gaseous hydrocarbons (methane, for example) under pressure. A third method relies on the same principle used millennia ago, and remains economical in warm, dry climates: sea water or natural brine is allowed to undergo solar evaporation. In modern methods, greater efficiency is obtained through repeated evaporations: the brine is moved through a series of shallow ponds with successively higher concentrations of salt. The salt crystallized in the last pond is harvested. Forty four million metric tons of salt are produced per year in the US, out of 225 millions tons worldwide. Of that, about 20 percent is used for human consumption. Salt also has a number of non-food uses. In the US, about 10 percent is used by highway departments to melt ice and snow on roadways (due to polar attractions between salt ions and water molecules, salt lowers the melting point of water, as well as raising its boiling point). It is also used in water-softening systems to remove minerals. About half the salt produced is used by the chemical industry. For example, NaCl is dissociated through electrolysis to produce chlorine, which in turn has many uses, from the treatment of drinking water to serving as a base ingredient for PVC plastic. Salt is produced in some 120 countries around the world, and because it is such a bulky, low-value commodity, it tends to be consumed close to where it is produced; less than 20 percent of world production is traded internationally. Today, salt has lost its great economic and political significance simply because it is no longer scarce. A pound of salt (enough to sustain one person for a year) can be purchased for less than a dollar. There is some disagreement among health experts about the amount of salt that is necessary for human health, though it is known that over-consumption of sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure. As with many natural substances, what is necessary for health in one dose may be harmful in a higher dose. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that Americans consume a minimum of 500 mg of sodium per day. The average American consumes about 3,500 mg per day. Even this amount is considered within the safe range for most people, though tolerance for excess sodium varies quite a bit with genetic makeup and the amount of exercise a person gets.  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Salt: The First Antibiotic

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Chemical Heritage Foundation has developed a collection of historical documents and resources related to chemistry. This article reviews the role of salt as a food preservative, a currency, and as an antibiotic. The site also includes links to information on the salt trade. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Salt Archive

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Salt Archive includes information on the significance of salt through the period 1000 BC up to the Industrial Revolution, including the physiology, role in religious activities, production, uses, economic role, and etymology of salt. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> The Salt Manufacturers' Association

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The SMA provides an overview of salt history, production, chemistry and production. They include a description of the use of salt in de-icing and its other uses. They also offer little known facts about salt and the facts behind well-known myths.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">FOR THE CLASSROOM
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Salt Institute

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Salt Institute is a non-profit association of salt producers founded in 1914 that provides information to the public on the properties, history, and uses of salt. The site also provides high school curriculum material on salt for chemistry, biology, nutrition, history, economics, and earth science. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Salt of the Earth

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Science and Mathematics with Applications of Relevant Technology (SMART) Program at the Illinois Institute of Technology provides continuing education for math and science teachers. The site also includes a student activity, //The Salt of the Earth//, and a grading rubric. []