Salt availability in Turkey and its potential use in solar ponds

Natural salt lakes with temperature gradients are briefly reviewed. Previous work on artificial solar ponds for energy production is also examined. The experience gained from more than twenty non-convecting solar ponds encourages their economic utilization in the future. In addition to the technical and physical requirements for solar pond construction, four basic requirements (sunshine, land, water and salt) are pointed out. In Turkey, these are abundantly found. Salt is the most important and expensive element, constituting about 15–20% of the initial investment of a solar pond. Salt can also be regarded as a complementary “fuel” for a solar pond, since it should be continuously replenished during the operation of the system. In this respect, salt resources in the country were studied. It is recommended that a survey over the Salt Lake be carried out to discover possible natural temperature gradients for heat generation.