|
|
|
Salt
Sodium chloride, or simply salt, is a familiar product
used in both human and animal food. Feedstock and chemical
industry are the largest consumers, the latter for chloride
and caustic soda manufacture, the two derivatives that are
employed extensively in the chemical industry and for plastics
manufacture (PVC). Huge quantities of salt are also required
for road de-icing in the northern hemisphere.
The next largest applications are in the agricultural sector,
where salt is used as a component in animal feeds and human
food to enhance flavour and also for food preservation or
processing.
Other uses for salt are in the petroleum industry for drilling
fluids, in the softening of hard waters, in the textile industry
as a rinse, in the tanning industry to inhibit microbial activities,
in the pulp and paper industry to bleach wood pulp, and in the
metal processing of aluminium, copper, steel, vanadium and uranium.
Link: ESPA
- The European Salt Producers' Association
| |
2002
|
| United States |
40.300.000
|
| Australia |
9.8790.000
|
| Brazil |
5.600.000
|
| Canada |
12.300.000
|
| China |
32.800.000
|
| India |
14.500.000
|
| Mexico |
8.500.000
|
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries,
January and 2004 and
European Mineral Statistics 1998 - 2002, British Geological
Survey
Salt - Production in Europe
| |
2002
|
% European Production
|
| Austria |
965.111
|
1,94
|
| Denmark |
590.000
|
1,18
|
| France |
6.698.000
|
13,46
|
| Germany |
14.338.000
|
28,82
|
| Greece |
126.118
|
0,25
|
| Italy |
3.300.000
|
6,63
|
| Netherlands |
5.773.000
|
11,60
|
| Portugal |
645.108
|
1,30
|
| Spain |
3.490.396
|
7,01
|
| United Kingdom |
6.100.000
|
12,26
|
| Total
EU 15 countries |
42.025.733
|
|
| Bulgaria |
1.800.000
|
0,61
|
| Poland |
3.557.989
|
7,15
|
| Romania |
2.257.194
|
4,53
|
| Slovakia |
97.400
|
0,19
|
| Slovenia |
5.200
|
0,01
|
| Total
EU 27 countries |
49.743.516
|
100
|
| Switzerland |
410.000
|
|
| Turkey |
2.196.637
|
| World
Total |
210.000.000
|
Source : European Mineral Statistics 1998-2002, British Geological
Survey
|
|
|
