Veolia Water Technologies will provide key processing technologies integrating HPD® crystallization systems designed to produce high-quality sulfate of potash (SOP).
Turkey-based Alkim Alkali Kimya A.S. (Alkim), a sodium sulfate producer, decided to invest in its Koralkim facility near Dazkırı on the coast of Lake Acıgöl to produce up to 50,000 tons per year of soluble-grade SOP.
Because SOP is not a naturally occurring mineral, Alkim awarded Veolia a contract to supply HPD® crystallization technology to produce SOP in crystalline, fully soluble form. The chemical reaction between purified potassium chloride and brine saturated with sulfate salts takes place inside draft tube baffle crystallizers which allow for the reaction time under controlled temperature to promote the growth of highly-pure SOP crystals.
Veolia’s solution, which also includes multiple-effect crystallizers to produce almost 35,000 tons per year of food-grade sodium chloride as a by-product, optimizes capital investment by utilizing Alkim’s existing cogeneration units.
Alkim has relied on Veolia two times before to deliver the initial crystallization system and a subsequent expansion at the facility in Çayırhan near Ankara and to produce pure sodium sulfate from solution-mined Glauberite extracted from underground natural deposits.
