Brine Brine is used for food processing and cooking (pickling and brining), for de-icing of roads and other structures, and in a number of technological processes. It is also a by-product of many industrial processes, such as desalination, and may pose an environmental risk due to its corrosive and toxic effects, so it requires wastewater treatment for proper disposal. Saline water with relatively high concentration of salt (usually sodium chloride) occurs naturally on Earth's surface (salt lakes), crust, and within brine pools on ocean bottom. Numerous processes exist which can produce brines in nature. Modification of seawater via evaporation results in
Salt industry in Syracuse, New York of . The brine was pumped to the surface with hand pumps, which could produce about 40 gallons per minute. Beginning in 1838, the State authorized the drilling of deep wells at several locations around the lake to locate the source of the brine; however, none of the wells that were drilled were able to pinpoint the source. By 1878, the wells were to deep. When the "cemented earth" was pierced by a drill, the salt-water rose to within of the surface and was raised the remainder of the way by small pumps driven by steam. That year, it was