Compass Minerals has selected Veolia Water Technologies to provide the HPD® Crystallisation equipment necessary to expand production of Protassium+®, its potassium sulphate product at its facility near Ogden, Utah, in the US. The use of Veolia’s HPD®-PIC™ (draft tube baffle) Crystalliser Technology will not only increase total potassium sulphate output, but also provide for a more efficient plant operation. Veolia’s system has been integrated into the existing Compass Minerals plant such that it will allow for higher product yields, achieve higher purity, and use less water due to more efficient recycling within the process.

The project, which began with bench-scale testing at Veolia’s Research & Development facility near Chicago, has completed the engineering phase and currently is in the midst of fabrication. All major and ancillary equipment is scheduled for delivery later in 2015 with startup expected in late 2016.

By combining ancient techniques with advanced technologies, Compass annually produces salt, potassium sulphate and magnesium chloride using the pond-based feedstock at its Ogden, Great Salt Lake facility. The 50,000-acre solar evaporation pond complex in Utah is one of only four in the world that can produce SOP from a naturally occurring brine source using solar evaporation. Mineral-rich brine from the lake’s most remote areas is pumped into a series of shallow ponds where the sun naturally evaporates the water over a three-year span, leaving beds of naturally occurring crystallised minerals. The materials are then gathered, cleansed and processed to produce all-natural products.