The round can of Morton Salt is a familiar sight in the home, but many consumers are surprised to learn that home seasoning requirements represent only a small use of salt. It plays an important part in our daily lives, touching literally thousands of products at some point in their manufacture, production or use.
In addition to home seasoning, salt is used in food service, water conditioning, agriculture, highway ice-melting and industry.
Few would guess that salt is involved with such diverse products as aspirin, automobiles, bar soap, ball point pens, writing paper, cotton shirts, wool sweaters, leather shoes and, even synthetic leather apparel.
It has been estimated that salt has 14,000 specific industrial applications. Several hundred of these are direct uses such as food seasoning, curing of animal hides or the preparation of saline solutions for intravenous injection. However, the gross number of applications are indirect through the use of thousands of chemicals derived from a dozen or so basic chemicals produced from salt. Chlorine gas, for example, is prepared solely by electrolysis of salt. The reaction of chlorine with various petroleum derivatives ultimately results in the manufacture of various plastics, insecticides, synthetic fibers and dyes. Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), generated by the same electrolytic process, is used in the manufacture of rayon, explosives, cosmectics (sic) and pharmaceuticals, just to name a few of many hundreds of applications.
In many instances salt becomes involved directly or indirectly, with several phases of the manufacturing process of a consumer product. With ordinary high-test gasoline, for example, salt has been employed in the mining of petroleum as a part of the drilling mud and in secondary recovery. It may also be used at the refinery for removing water from the gasoline. Metallic sodium derived from salt is utilized in the manufacture of tetraethyl lead, the anti-knock additive and several derivatives of salt are involved in the manufacture of detergent additives to inhibit the build-up of engine deposits.
To carry the example further to include the automobile, salt plays important roles in the manufacture of steel, aluminum and plastic components, as well as lubricants, rubber tires, seat covers, vinyl tops and even the catalytic muffler.
It becomes very clear that the inexpensive and unglamorous household chemical that we all take for granted is an absolute necessity for maintaining our highly developed civilization and prosperity. Fortunately, salt is an abundant mineral for which there is an almost inexaustable (sic) reserve.
In the processing of food, salt plays a number of roles other than the seasoning or flavoring function for which it is most widely known. By inhibiting the growth of bacteria, yeast and molds, it is a natural preservative as well as a seasoning in such common foods as butter, margarine, salad dressings, sausages and various pickled products. It plays a key role in the leavening of bread, the development of the texture and rind of natural cheeses, the bleached color of sauerkraut and the tenderness of vegetables. It is an important component of meat tenderizers, and is the principal carrier for spice, flavoring preparations and food colors.
transcribed by B. Miller, 1999
from The Grand Saline Sun 25 May 1978 donated by David Monk.Salt has been found to be the most effcient (sic) and economical material to provide safe, ice-free conditions on streets and highways. Clear streets during inclement weather allow emergency vehicles to reach their destinations more quickly, and traffic to move more efficiently. Consequently, accidents are reduced, energy is saved, and lives and property are preserved. Salt goes to work immediately melting the ice and snow and preventing them from sticking to the pavements. Homeowners can put salt to work on their steps and sidewalks with the same effect.
Salt Industry Van Zandt County