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
Brine mining iodine from brine is Japan, where iodine-rich water is co-produced with natural gas. Iodine extraction began in 1934. In 2013 seven companies were reported to be extracting iodine. Japanese iodine brines are produced from mostly marine sediments ranging in age from Pliocene to Pleistocene. The main producing area is the Southern Kanto gas field on the east-central coast of Honshu. The iodine content of the brine can be as high as 160ppm. Since 1977, iodine has been extracted from brine in the Morrow Sandstone of Pennsylvanian age, at locations in the Anadarko Basin. of northwest Oklahoma. The brine occurs at