A brine pipeline is a pipeline to transport

brine Brine is a high-concentration Solution (chemistry), solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of ...

. It is a common way to transport salt from

salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

salt well A salt well (or brine well) is used to mine salt from caverns or deposits. Water is used as a solution to dissolve the salt or halite deposits so that they can be extracted by pipe to an evaporation process, which results in a brine or dry produc ...

s and

sink works Sink works or sinkworks (from German ''Sinkwerke'') is a method of salt mining from salt deposits in mountainous areas. It is similar to brine wells in that salt was extracted by dissolving it in water. Both approaches simulate natural brine spri ...

to the places of salt evaporation (

saltern A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also o ...

s, salt pans). Brine pipelines are also used in the oil and gas industries, and to remove salts and contaminants from water supplies.

Salt mining

Brine pipelines were originally made of hollowed wood. One of the earliest known wooden pipelines ran from

Bad Reichenhall Bad Reichenhall ( Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Sta ...

Traunstein Traunstein ( Central Bavarian: ''Traunstoa'') is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a much larger district of the same name. The town serves as a local government, retail, health services ...

Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of the ...

, Germany, in 1619. An ancient brine pipeline may be traced along the Sentier du Sel, a 12.5 km trail in

Chablais vaudois Chablais () was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains. Chablais was elevated to a duchy in 1311 by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. This region is currently divided into three territories, the ''Chablais savoyard'', the ...

, Switzerland.

References

{{portal bar, Food Salt production