Breaking Supersaturation in Carnallite Brine

ABSTRACT

Israel Chemicals Ltd (ICL), the Seeker for this Challenge, extracts brine from the Dead Sea for production of salt, potash, and other important minerals primarily through evaporation. At the end of this process the end brine that is returned to the Dead Sea is often supersaturated in carnallite, a mineral with composition KClMgCl₂·6H₂O that is used to produce potash. ICL is seeking innovative ways that are feasible and economical on an industrial scale to break the supersaturation.

This is an Ideation Challenge with a guaranteed award for at least one submitted solution.

 

OVERVIEW

Supersaturation occurs when a solute is present in a solution at a higher concentration than indicated by the solute’s solubility at the particular temperature and pressure of the solution. This is easy to accomplish in a laboratory setting by typically slowly cooling a saturated solution without disturbance. Likewise, it is usually easy to break the supersaturation by stirring the solution or adding a seed crystal. Supersaturation also occurs in industrial process settings but breaking the supersaturation using standard techniques is not always successful for a variety of reasons. ICL encounters such a situation during the autumn and winter months near the Dead Sea in their production plant for potash (KCl). To produce potash, salt, and other valuable minerals, ICL extracts brine from the Dead Sea and sends it through a series of evaporation ponds to concentrate and extract the materials of interest. At the end of this series of ponds, the end brine is returned to the Dead Sea but it still may contain material of value. Under certain circumstances that occur most often in autumn and winter, the end brine is supersaturated in carnallite, a mineral with composition KClMgCl₂·6H₂O. ICL has investigated many techniques to break the supersaturation in order to extract more potash from the brine but each of the techniques fell short when applied on an industrial scale necessary for a production plant with an end brine flow of 180 Mm³/year (2.4 × 10¹¹ kg/year) and a final evaporation pond area of 3.5 km².

This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique features:

• There is a guaranteed award.  The award(s) will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Seeker. The total payout will be $15,000, with at least one award being no smaller than $5,000 and no award being smaller than $2,500.

• The Solvers are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Seeker.  Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solver grants to the Seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal, including for promotional purposes.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on 22-May-2023.
Late submissions will not be considered.

After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.

 

ELIGIBILITY

This is an external Challenge only. Employees of the ICL Group and its subsidiaries are ineligible to receive awards for this Challenge.

ABOUT THE SEEKER

ICL, a global manufacturer of products based on unique minerals, fulfills humanity’s essential needs, primarily in three markets: agriculture, food, and engineered materials.

The experience, knowledge, and professionalism derived from establishing Israel’s potash industry over a period of 80 years of intensive activity and major investment in R&D, have transformed ICL into a world leader in specialty fertilizers, bromine, and flame retardants. ICL produces approximately a third of the world’s bromine and is the world’s sixth-largest potash producer, as well as one of its leading providers of pure phosphoric acid.

ICL’s operations are global and are supported by worldwide distribution and supply chains. Our mining and production sites are located in Israel, Europe, North and South America, and China. ICL employs about 13,000 people worldwide.

 

What is the Wazoku Crowd?

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What is a Wazoku Crowd Ideation™ Challenge?

A Wazoku Crowd Ideation™ Challenge is a broad question formulated to obtain access to new ideas, similar to a global brainstorm for producing a breakthrough idea or market survey which may include ideas for a new product line, a new commercial application for a current product, or even a viral marketing idea to recruit new customers. Ideation™ Challenge submissions are typically about two written pages, and Seekers receive a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use all submissions.

In an Ideation™ Challenge, Solvers may:

• Submit ideas of their own
• Submit third party information that they have the right to use and further the authority to convey that right and the right to use and develop derivative works to Seekers
• Submit information considered in the public domain without any limitations on use

Solvers should not reveal any confidential information in their submissions. Often the Ideation™ Challenge will be followed by one or more of the other three Challenge types to further develop the ideas and gain Intellectual Property protection when the concept has been well-defined.