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Description
Established in 1906, Chernomorski Solnici, known as the Burgas Saltworks factory, has been a stalwart in processing sea waters for various purposes, including crystalline table salt, lye for winter road maintenance, and medical lye for the pharmaceutical and physical therapy industries. The company employs the phocean method, relying on natural evaporation of sea water for the singular harvesting of crystalized salt.
The primary aim of the project is to enhance the company''s competitiveness by introducing an innovative salt harvesting technology. The novel salt extraction process employs a salt-producing unit, comprising a specially modified chain loader harvester and an attached working body designed for the conditions of the salt ponds. The company''s R&D department has successfully developed a prototype for the salt harvesting machinery, and a registered patent model is in place. The dimensions and weight of the chain machine are meticulously adapted to the specific conditions at the bottom of the salt-making facilities and the natural surroundings of Chernomorski Solnici JSC. This environmentally friendly and efficient extraction process aligns seamlessly with the stringent requirements of the protected area of Atanassovsko Ezero, contributing to the lake''s biodiversity.
The envisaged investment promises increased production capacity, elevated final product quality, and enhanced working conditions, fostering a positive impact on both the company''s operational efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Summary of project results
Although classified as mining, the salt production, following millennia-old technology benefitting from solar evaporation, is one of the few genuinely green industries. In the case of the Atanassovsko Lake – the salt ponds of Chernomorski Solnici JSC it is even more valid for the over hundred years during which the company operates the Lake has become the second most important bird habitat along the Black Sea coastline after the Danube Delta, the very existence of which depends on maintaining the extensive salt production. Despite the vast experience of Chernomorski Solnici JSC in harvesting, processing and transportation of sea salt from Atanassovsko Lake, the company struggles with the challenges posed by the natural factors – the lower salinity of the Black Sea and the location of the Lake – at the lowest point of a watershed draining into the lake and additionally diluting its waters. Resulting from that the accumulating salt layer is comparatively thin and as there are no adequate technologies, the harvesting involves only man labour, with the consequent large collection period spanning over four, and in some cases up to six, months. This is associated with increase of the loss of raw material (salt) due to the beginning of the fall-winter season, and more importantly, this does not allow for accumulation of the brine (highest concentration saline solution) volume, thus preventing formation of thicker crystal salt layer next years. The losses of salt have become significant following the generally wetter falls registered lately as an effect of the global climate change.
The multifaceted technological process for delivering a high value competitive product requires considerable improvement in the technology introduced in the stage of the Salt Extraction. The company had developed and produced an innovative salt harvester. The machine is the key to increase the capacity and efficiency of the Atanassovsko Lake Salt Ponds, and it is intrinsically combined with the innovative saltwater extraction process also developed by the company.
The implemented innovative process and technology has significantly improved the quality of the raw material harvested and thus increased the company''s competitiveness and value added of the final product. As a result of its mainstreaming in the manufacturing process following specific objectives have been achieved:
- restore the level of the traditional average yield of 40,000 tonnes of salt, as a result of eliminating losses of the existing inefficient system of harvesting;
- shorten the period for collection of the crystal salt and using the resources more efficiently and more effectively;
- increase the period for concentrating salt (by increasing concentration of the brine) for the next salt season.
The green innovation has ultimately delivered the following outputs:
- the effectiveness of salt harvesting has been enhanced and the capacity has been increased accordingly – the average daily production of one shift was up to 100 tonnes a day, it has been increased to 240 tonnes a day;
- the quantity and quality of the extracted salt has been significantly enhanced and increased.
- the current production capacity of the company has been expanded;
- the Atanassovsko Lake will be fully preserved