Ultrasonic device efficiently removes salt from sea sand for construction use

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST) has developed an ultrasonic washing device that successfully removes salt (NaCl) from sea sand. KIOST’s analysis and validation outcomes have been published in Scientific Reports.

Sand is an important materials used within the construction of key social infrastructure equivalent to roads, bridges, and harbors. However, as the gathering of river sand turns into more and more restricted or not possible, sea sand is getting used instead. Desalination is a crucial course of when utilizing sea sand in construction.

If the salt isn’t correctly eliminated, it may possibly trigger corrosion of the metal rebar embedded in strengthened concrete. This corrosion results in untimely deterioration and harm to the concrete structures, considerably compromising their structural integrity and security.

The permissible salt content material (salinity) of sea sand really helpful by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for use as mixture in construction is 0.04% or much less.

Dr. Gil-Lim Yoon of KIOST’s Ocean Space Development and Energy Research Department has developed a novel ultrasonic desalination instrument that allows more practical removing of salt from sea sand. Its key technical options embody: cavitation-driven ultrasonic washing, sturdy particle clearance from bubble collapse, enhanced penetration pressure, and non-contact cleaning utilizing ultrasonic vitality.

Even in confined areas, this expertise permits exact and fast desalination, dramatically decreasing each water utilization and processing time.

Currently, salt in sea sand is eliminated by pouring a big quantity of water over the sand. This conventional technique requires about 4 tons of water to course of only one ton of sea sand.

The ultrasonic technique developed by KIOST successfully reduces the salt concentration in sea sand to 0.04% or much less by first mixing the sea sand with water at a ratio of 1:2 after which treating the combination with ultrasonic waves of 300W or increased for three minutes.

KIOST President Hyi Seung Lee acknowledged, “This research is significant because it offers an innovative solution to the global shortage of river sand while ensuring structural integrity and economic feasibility. KIOST will continue to advance this technology to enable faster and more precise processing of large volumes of sea sand.”

Provided by
Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology