Reject Brine Research Articles

Massive-Scale Dissolution, Conveyance, and Disposal of Dead Sea Potash Industry Halite Waste.

The Dead Sea (DS) potash industry halite waste accumulation rate is estimated at 0.2 m year-1, across 140 km2 of evaporation ponds in Israel and Jordan, totaling ∼28 million m3 year-1. As accommodation in the southern DS basin space is nearly exhausted, it is planned in Israel to dredge newly precipitated salt and convey it in a solid state to the northern DS basin by constructing a 30 km conveyor to the northern DS basin where the salt will be disposed. Concerns regarding the environmental impacts of such massive undertaking led to the examination of alternative solutions. The alternative discussed in the paper, which takes into account the estimated halite waste volumes in Jordan as well, examines the feasibility for dissolution of the dredged halite and its transport in a dissolved state and disposal in the DS by seawater (SW) or desalination reject brine (RB) from the Red Sea─Dead Sea Project (RSDSP), if constructed. Results show that the high halite solubility in SW/RB and rapid dissolution kinetics are sufficiently fast to dispose of the dredged halite with the discussed volumes of the RSDSP. Thermodynamic calculations are presented to show that precipitation dynamics following the mixing of the Na+-Cl--loaded SW/RB with the DS brine could be controlled to avoid outsalting at the mixing point in the DS.

Inorganic CO2 conversion through reaction with concentrated reject brine: Polymorphic characteristics of intermediate carbonate salts

In recent times, various types of water purification plants have been employed to produce clean water from seawater, as a means to overcome water deficit problems. However, this process results in the production of highly concentrated reject brine solutions, which can cause significant environmental and ecological problems due to their high ionic concentration when released into the near-shore area without treatment. Conversely, these reject brine solutions can be regarded as a promising reactant for providing metal cations during the conversion of CO2 into inorganic materials, rather than treating them as wastewater. This study proposes a CO2-based post-treatment process for desalinated reject brine and investigates the relationship between the ionic concentration of the reject brine solution and the polymorphic properties of inorganic compounds produced by the reaction between metal cations and CO2. The polymorphic properties of metal carbonates were investigated with respect to the gradual changes in the concentration of the reject brine solution through dilution and concentration. As a result of this study, the degree of reaction inhibition was found to be based on the concentration of the reject brine solutions, and these results can be applied in multidisciplinary areas, including climate change mitigation, post-treatment of desalinated brine, and advanced materials and resource production.

Conversion of Waste Synthesis Gas to Desalination Catalyst at Ambient Temperatures

In this study, a continuous flow of a synthetic, dry, and acidic waste synthesis gas (WSG) (containing N2, H2, CO, CH4, and CO2) at ambient temperatures was first passed through a fixed bed reactor (FBR) containing halite + m-Fe0 and then a saline bubble column diffusion reactor (BCDR) containing m-Fe0. The FBR converted 47.5% of the CO + CH4 + CO2 into n-C0. Passage of the n-C0 into the BCDR resulted in the formation of the desalination catalyst (Fe0:Fe(a,b,c)@C0) + CH4 + CO + CO2 + CxHy, where 64% of the feed n-C0 was converted to gaseous products. The desalination pellets can remove >60% of the water salinity without producing a reject brine or requiring an external energy source. The gaseous products from the BCDR included: CxHy (where x < 6), CO, CO2, and H2.

Modeling and Experimental Validation for the Preparation of Concentrated Tea Extract Using a Forward Osmosis Process Using a Food-Grade Inorganic Draw Solute

In this study, a one-dimensional mathematical model was developed for the concentration of tea extract using a forward osmosis (FO) process. The membrane transport parameters were estimated by minimizing the error between the model output and the experimental results. The model equations were solved to predict the FO performance within allowable error limits. Further, a series of process flow sheet simulation studies were performed to investigate the effect of different operating conditions on the overall FO performance. Based on the simulation results, a multicriteria optimization was developed to attain the maximum permeate and minimum specific reverse solute flux (SRSF). Using the best-performing process flow sheet model, the feasibility of seawater and high-concentration reject brine as a draw solution was also investigated for the concentration of tea extract. The high-concentration reject brine (105.17 g L–1) can result in rapid dewatering with minimal SRSF (0.14 g L–1) along with simultaneous seawater dilution (81.38 g L–1).

Reject brine management: Denitrification and zero liquid discharge (ZLD)—Current status, challenges and future prospects

Water is at the core of sustainable development. Moreover, it is essential for social, economic, and environmental well-being. However, water resource availability has been significantly threatened in the 21st century. In general, freshwater supplies are being depleted by natural and anthropogenic activities, such as rapid population growth, industrialization, and intensive agriculture. In addition, one of the main causes of water resource shortages is water body contamination. Nitrate pollution is considered one of the most pressing global environmental problems, both in surface and groundwater. The literature reveals that numerous nitrogen removal processes have been developed and proposed. To overcome this problem, desalination is a robust and mature technique for obtaining fresh water from saltwater, and is considered an efficient and reliable process. However, there is growing concern about the adverse environmental impacts generated by brine where concentrated rejection by desalination results in high salinity together with chemical residues. To solve this problem, a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) strategy has been proposed in the specific literature. Furthermore, ZLD can be used to treat and recover valuable resources. This study analyzes and discusses the current status of brine treatment technologies targeting ZLD, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Technologies based on membranes and thermal energy were also analyzed, and their performance and operating costs were compared. Finally, the different denitrification processes are listed. This ZLD solution is currently considered an essential and compulsory treatment in reject brine to remove nitrate that, because of high concentrations in the environment, is one of the most widespread global contaminants.

Life cycle assessment of brucite and synthetic MgO produced from reject brine using different alkalis

A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is carried out to determine the environmental impact of brucite (Mg(OH)2) and synthetic magnesium oxide (MgO) recovered from reject brine in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using SimaPro 9.1 software. The environmental impacts of synthetic Mg(OH)2 and MgO production were quantified using 18 ReCiPe midpoint indicators. Four different alkali sources, calcium oxide (CaO), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), and ethanolamine (C2H7NO), which can be utilized for the production of synthetic MgO, are considered. The results demonstrate that CaO was the most environmentally friendly alkali that can be used to produce synthetic Mg(OH)2 with the lowest environmental impact for all 18 ReCiPe midpoint indicators. The results for brucite and synthetic MgO production in the UAE were scaled up from laboratory experiments for LCA analysis and compared to the results of commercial MgO produced from the calcination of magnesite (MgCO3). The carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq.) emissions for synthetic MgO generated from reject brine using CaO are 6.7–25.2% higher than that from commercial MgO. However, synthetic brucite recovered from reject brine using CaO produces 28.8–37.1% less CO2 eq. emissions compared to commercial MgO, making it a promising magnesium-based binder that can be adopted in the UAE.

Phosphate removal from contaminated seawater and RO water using magnetically modified reactive CaO derived from reject brine: Experimental studies maintained by theoretical simulations

Reject desalination brine is a rich source of salts and valuable materials. But, its disposal into the external environment generates a major source of pollution. This paper investigated the production of reactive CaO from reverse osmosis (RO) reject brine and its use as adsorbent for phosphate removal from contaminated seawater and RO industrial waste. This study was realized via two steps. Firstly, the recovery of Ca-phase from reject brine via oxalic acid at optimized conditions resulting clcium oxalate monohydrate, and its calcination at 900°C for 2 h to produce the reactive CaO. Secondly, the produced reactive CaO was doped by Fe3O4 via co-precipitation method to produce reactive CaO@Fe3O4 composites. The reactive CaO@Fe3O4 was explored as a potential adsorbent with enhanced capacity for phosphate ions (PO43−) removal. The estimated maximum reactive CaO@Fe3O4 uptake capacity for PO43− (106.3 mg/g) is comparatively higher than the identified values for the reactive CaO (72.8 mg/g) and Fe3O4 (41.6 mg/g). The kinetics of the PO43− uptake reaction via reactive CaO@Fe3O4 obey the Pseudo-Second order model (R2 > 0.98) and the equilibrium time was determined after 450 min. The equilibrium study of the demonstrated reaction exhibited excellent agreement with the isotherm assumption of the Freundlich model implying multilayer and heterogeneous adsorption processes. The thermodynamic aspect of PO43− adsorption reaction is favorable and exothermic. The adsorbent selectivity, reusability experiments and realistic study were also discussed . Furthermore, the computational study using DMs was applied to better understand the interaction for {PO43−/CaO(111)&CaO@Fe3O4(111)} systems. The simulation results demonstrate favorable, more stable, spontaneous adsorption and exothermic for PO43−/CaO@Fe3O4(111) than PO43−/CaO(111)complex. Overall, CaO@Fe3O4(111) could serve as a effective and reusable adsorbent for phosphate ions recovery from aqueous solutions.

Desalination of Irrigation Water Using Metal Polymers

Rain-fed and irrigated agriculture associated with salinized soil and saline water supplies is characterized by low crop yields. Partial desalination of this saline water will increase crop yields. Recent studies have established that supported metal polymers can be used to produce partially desalinated irrigation water without producing a waste reject brine. This study assesses the ability of more than 90 different unsupported metal polymer formulations (containing one or more of Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, and Zn) to remove Na+ ions and Cl− ions from saline water (seawater, brine, brackish water, and flowback water). The polymers were constructed using a simple sol-gel approach at ambient temperatures. The overall ion removal followed a first-order reaction. Removal selectivity between Na+ and Cl− ions was a function of polymer formulation. Mg@Al polymers preferentially remove Cl− ions, while Fe@Ca polymers tend to remove Cl− and Na+ ions in more equal proportions. Ion removal can be rapid, with >50% removed within 1 h. These results were used to develop a process methodology, which will allow most seawater, brackish water, and saline flowback water to be desalinated to form usable irrigation water.

Design Rules for Porous Flow-through Electrodes Used in Membrane-Free Electrolyzers for Treatment of Desalination Reject Brine

The world’s growing demand for fresh water is creating increasing stress on existing fresh water sources and environmental hazards related to the generation of high salinity reject brine streams that are produced during seawater desalination. Electrochemical separations technologies offer attractive sources to treat brines to reduce brine salinity and/or harvest valuable chemicals or materials from dissolved species present in the brine. In this work, our team has explored the use of membrane-free electrochemical electrolyzers for treatment and separation processes through their ability to create large pH differentials between anode and cathode effluent streams. Because these devices do not contain membranes, they are attractive for operating in the harsh brine environment, which contains many impurities that can result in membrane scaling or fouling. In the first part of this talk, I will describe the basic operating principles of these electrolyzers, which rely on the use of flow-induced separation of anode and cathode effluent streams to create large pH gradients. During operation, it is generally desirable to maximize pH differentials by choosing flow conditions that limit cross-over of product species, thus ensuring high current utilization, while avoiding unnecessary dilution of H+ and OH- within the product streams. This trade-off between cross-over and dilution was studied for porous flow-through electrodes, where we systematically explore the combined influences of volumetric flow rates, catalyst placement, and operating current densities on the pH differential generated by electrolyzers fed with pH neutral brine solutions. Aided by the use of in situ high speed videography and colorimetric imaging of pH differentials, these experiments show that the Damköhler number is an excellent descriptor that can be used to identify the optimal operating conditions that maximize pH differential. Further, we show that the in-plane distribution of active catalyst loading on the porous electrode support has a large impact on the maximum pH differential that can be achieved. Finally, this presentation will also describe the tolerance of electrode durability to the presence of dissolved alkaline earth metal ions such as Mg2+, which can deposit on cathodes and result in scaling if not properly managed.

Production and Physiological Quality of Seeds of Mini Watermelon Grown in Substrates with a Saline Nutrient Solution Prepared with Reject Brine.

The economically profitable production of crops is related, among other factors, to seed quality, the production system, and the water used in irrigation or preparation of nutrient solutions. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the phenology, production, and vigor of seeds of mini watermelons grown in saline nutrient solution and different substrates. In the fruit and seed production phase, the experiment occurred in a greenhouse with five electrical conductivities of water for nutrient solution preparation, ECw (0.5, 2.4, 4.0, 5.5, and 6.9 dS m−1), and two growing substrates (coconut fiber and sand). We evaluated the physiological quality of seeds previously produced under the five electrical conductivities of water and two substrates. High salinities for the hydroponic cultivation of the mini watermelon cultivar ‘Sugar Baby’ accelerated fruit maturation and crop cycle, decreasing fruit size. However, in both substrates, the seed production of mini watermelons, seed viability, and seed vigor occurred adequately with a reject brine of 6.9 dS m−1 in the hydroponic nutrient solution. The seed production of ‘Sugar Baby’ mini watermelons using reject brine in a hydroponic system with coconut fiber and sand substrates is viable in regions with water limitations.

Assessment of brine disposal from Zliten desalination plant in marine environment

Desalination plants cause environmental pollution of local effects. Disposal of desalination effluents is considered as a serious environmental dilemma. The concentration of brine varies from 50 to 75 g/L and has a much higher density than seawater and consequently tends to fall on the seafloor near the brine outfall outlet (plume effect), therefore, creating a very salty layer that can have a negative impacts on the flora and the marine life and any related human activities. In this work, we present a case study on the environmental impacts of the effluents from the MSF seawater desalination plant into a coastal and marine ecosystem of Zliten-Libya. Samples were collected from the reject channel and therefore many parameters were measured such as PH, Temperature, Salinity, Conductivity and other parameters related to seawater and produced water have been investigated too. The results showed that the pH is slightly lower than the seawater; the values range from 6.1 to 7.8. The salinity of brine discharge was found 57113 ppm compared with 35000 ppm for the seawater. The TDS of brine discharge registered 56700mg/l in comparison with 32000 mg/l for seawater, Reject brines were around 10-14°C higher than the ambient seawater temperature, which causes a negative impact on marine ecosystems.

Purification of Saline Water Using Desalination Pellets

This study establishes that processed zero valent iron can be pelletised and used to desalinate water. The pellets desalinate water using a zero-order reaction, where: product water salinity = −[a][Reaction Time] + Feed Water Salinity. Desalination using the pellets requires no onsite energy, no onsite infrastructure, and produces no reject brine. Potential applications for the pellets, include desalination of saline impoundments, desalination of agricultural water, desalination of irrigation water, desalination of irrigated salinized soils, and aquifer desalination. The examples demonstrate 30% to 60% desalination for saline feed water within the salinity range of 4 to 10 g L−1. The product water has a low outcome variability for a specific pellet charge. The achievable desalination increases as the pellet weight: water volume ratio increases. The pellets can also be used for water purification, wastewater desalination, treatment of domestic wastewater, treatment of industrial wastewater, treatment of livestock feed water, treatment of oil field and mining wastewater, water purification to allow reuse, and the treatment of polluted soils. This study addresses the manufacture of the pellets, their effectiveness in desalinating water, and the outcome variability associated with desalination.

Electro dialysis reversal (EDR) performance for reject brine treatment of reverse osmosis desalination system.

In this study, the performance of bench-scale EDR was evaluated using the samples taken from the 1st and the 2nd stage RO from the Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) plant in Eshtehard, Iran. The measurements indicated that original TDS of the aquifer brackish water was equal to 3,229–3,664 mg/L, whereas TDS of the 1st stage RO brine was between 5,500 and 7,700 mg/L, that TDS of the 2nd stage RO brine was in the range of 9,500–10,600 mg/L. A batch bench-scale EDR system of 12 l/h was used with a direct electric current at three different scenarios. In the first, the brine was fed at 20°C (as a reference regulated point). In the second, temperature (14, 20, 26.5°C), and in the third, voltage were changed (6, 12, 18, 24 V) to investigate their influences on performance of the EDR process, while the other operational parameters (feed flow rate, recovery ratio, quality of feed brine)were kept constant. Based on the data analysis using the ANOVA and DUNCAN tests for the second and third scenarios, it was observed that the optimum TDS removal efficiency of the EDR process can be at temperature of 26.5°C and voltage of 18 V. On the other hand, the successful performance of the bench-scale EDR in reducing the 29,000 mg/L TDS and the 45,000 μmhos/cm EC of the 2nd stage brine to 1,716 mg/L (TDS) and 2,640 μmhos/cm (EC) (at 26.5°C and 24V) could be considered as the main achievement of this research. Overall, the hybrid process RO-EDR-RO can be considered as the best technical, environmental and economical scenario for the development of Eshtehard Desalination Plant phase 2 at full scale.

Evaluation of parameters controlling calcium recovery and CO2 uptake from desalination reject brine: An optimization approach

A multistage process scheme for extracting valuable minerals from desalination reject brine while simultaneously sequestering CO2 has been proposed. As a part of the proposed scheme, simultaneous removal of calcium ions and CO2 uptake of a magnesium free reject brine was investigated in an inert particle spouted bed reactor (IPSBR) by reacting CO2 with reject brine in presence of NaOH. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the effect of NaOH dosage, gas flowrate and salinity on the reaction with the target of maximizing calcium removal and CO2 uptake. A second order regression model was generated for both target responses. The predicted responses for both targets were in good agreement with the obtained experimental response. Based on a multivariate optimization, the optimum conditions for NaOH, flowrate and salinity for simultaneous calcium removal and CO2 uptake were found to be 5 g/L, 2 L/min and 75 g/L, respectively. Under these conditions, 100% removal of Ca2+ ions from the brine could be achieved with a CO2 uptake of 5.4 g/L. Moreover, the solid products obtained under the optimum conditions were characterized confirming the formation of high purity calcium carbonates. Based on optimized conditions, the proposed multistage process scheme promises to produce highly pure Mg(OH)2 and CaCO3, while sequestering 5400 tons of CO2 for every million tons of brine treated. The scheme can be further improved by incorporating an electrolysis unit to produce HCl along with NaOH that can be recirculated to eliminate the need for any external addition of NaOH, thus, creating a sustainable process for reject brine management and CO2 sequestration.

Capturing CO2 with NaOH solution from reject brine via an integrated technology based on bipolar membrane electrodialysis and hollow fiber membrane contactor

Discharges of wastewater and waste gas are two major environmental problems which have drawn great attention. To well use the reject brine and realize continuous absorption of CO2, in this work, a green process for the capture of CO2 by NaOH solution produced from reject brine based on bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) has been proposed. By using the BMED, the maximum concentrations of generated acid and base attained 1.88 mol/L and 2.01 mol/L, respectively, with the current efficiency of 64.71 % and energy consumption of 3.97 kWh/kg NaOH. The acid could be recycled for pH adjustment and the alkali could be directly used for CO2 absorption with the help of hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC). The optimization of the gas flow rate, liquid flow rate, liquid temperature, and NaOH concentration has been investigated in CO2 absorption process with a maximum CO2 removal rate of 90.85 %. As for absorption of CO2, the absorbent containing NaOH and Na2CO3 could be directly used in the pretreatment process for reject brine softening. It is noted that the process could be performed without adding extra chemicals and the self-cycle could be achieved. In addition, economic and environmental evaluations verify the feasibility of this process, indicating the prospect of industrial application.

Membraneless Electrolyzers for the Conversion of Brine into High-Value Products

Desalination offers an approach to address the shortage of fresh water, however, the main concern is the generation of reject brine or concentrated saltwater that contains organic compounds, metals, and contaminants. Membraneless electrolyzers present a viable solution to convert the reject brine into H2 and O2, while simultaneously splitting it into acidic (HCl) and base (NaOH). They transport ions through a highly conductive liquid electrolyte instead of a membrane. The lack of a separator allows for operation in a wide range of pH environments and inhibits degradation and fouling issues found in conventional electrolyzers. In this study, a membraneless electrolyzer was 3D printed and a Pt|porous electrode and planar Pt|Ti-foil were used as the cathode and anode, respectively. The electrodes are a key component since that is where the reactions of interest (hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions) occur. Hence, the distribution of Pt onto a carbon foam substrate in a uniform and asymmetric pattern was studied. Kinetic overpotentials and mass transfer limitations decrease when Pt nanoparticles are in a uniform pattern since it increases active sites resulting in faster kinetics. However, asymmetric catalyst placement controls where gaseous bubbles are generated and therefore decreases product crossover. The device’s ability to generate acid and base at different applied current densities and volumetric flow rates was investigated whereby at high current densities and low volumetric flow rates, the pH differential of the effluent streams broadens. However, at this condition, product crossover increases. Future work involves using in situ high-speed videography to determine the critical Damköhler number to unravel the achievable maximum pH while minimizing product cross-over.

An antiscalant with chelating residues of amino acid glycine

Cyclopolymerization of diallylammonioethanoate [(H2CCHCH2)2NH+CH2CO2−] afforded polyzwitterion (PZ) PZ-3800, PZ-4600 and PZ-6150 having respective M¯n of 3800, 4600, and 6150 g mol−1 in excellent yields. The PZs having residues of amino acid glycine were examined as antiscalant. PZ-4600 in the respective concentration and temperature ranges 1–20 ppm and 40–80 °C, effectively mitigated the scale formation from a supersaturated CaSO4 solution. Antiscalant efficacies were found to increase in the order: PZ-6150 < PZ-4600 < PZ-3800. At a 2.5 ppm concentration, PZ-3800, −4600, and −6150 were shown to impart percent scale inhibition (PSI) of ≈ 100% up to 180, 60, and 30 min, respectively. At 1 ppm concentration, PZ-3800 and -4600 demonstrated respective induction times (after which the scale formation starts to occur) of 80 and 60 min with a PSI value of 99% up to 60 and 30 min, respectively. The inexpensive antiscalant has the potential in mitigating scale formation during the usual residence time (15 min) of the reject brine in an osmosis chamber. The smaller size PZ-3-3800 is found to be the most efficient in disrupting the crystal growth of CaSO4.

Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Desalination Reject Brine Using Modified Solvay Process Based on Calcium Oxide

In this research, the influence of a variety of operational factors such as the temperature of the reaction, gas flow rate, concentration of NaCl, and the amount of Ca(OH)2 for reducing the environmental impacts of desalination reject brine using the calcium oxide-based modified Solvay process were investigated. For this purpose, response surface modeling (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were applied. The significance of these factors and their interactions was assessed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique with a 95% degree of certainty (p &lt; 0.05). Optimal conditions for this process included: a temperature of 10 °C, a Ca(OH)2/NaCl concentration ratio of 0.36, and a gas flow rate of 800 mL/min. Under these conditions, the maximum sodium removal efficiency from the synthetic sodium chloride solution was 53.51%. Subsequently, by employing the real brine rejected from the desalination unit with a 63 g/L salinity level under optimal conditions, the removal rate of sodium up to 43% was achieved. To investigate the process’s kinetics of Na elimination, three different kinds of kinetics models were applied from zero to second order. R squared values of 0.9101, 0.915, and 0.9141 were obtained in this investigation for zero-, first-, and second-degree kinetic models, respectively, when synthetic reject saline reacted. In contrast, according to R squared’s results with utilizing real rejected brine, the results for the model of kinetics were: R squared = 0.9115, 0.9324, and 0.9532, correspondingly. As a result, the elimination of sodium from real reject brine is consistent with the second-order kinetic model. According to the findings, the calcium oxide-based modified Solvay method offers a great deal of promise for desalination of brine rejected from desalination units and reducing their environmental impacts. The primary benefit of this technology is producing a usable solid product (sodium bicarbonate) from sodium chloride in the brine solution.

Feasibility of Increasing Water Recovery of Inland Reverse Osmosis Systems and the Use of Reject Brine

Feasibility of Increasing Water Recovery of Inland Reverse Osmosis Systems and the Use of Reject Brine

Preparing Mg(OH)2-based materials by electro-deposition method from magnesium- and calcium-rich brine simulant

Pollution to the ocean caused by the disposal of reject brine is a serious environmental concern. Recycling the ions in reject brine for materials manufacturing can mitigate this environmental burden and create new value streams. This paper presents a way of preparing Mg(OH)2-based building materials from magnesium- and calcium-rich solutions through electro-deposition. The validity of this method in two scenarios, namely brine simulant and seawater simulant, was assessed by comparing the efficiency of deposition; and the properties of the deposits were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), thermo-gravimetric (TG), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM). It was found that a Mg(OH)2-based material mixed with CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2 could be electrically deposited on the surface of the cathode. The mass growth rate, mechanical performance, and compactness of the deposits prepared from the brine simulant were better relative to those of the deposits prepared from the simulated seawater. On the micro-scale, the particles grown from the brine simulant showed a higher packing density and smaller size, which could have a positive effect on the mechanical property of the deposits. Overall, magnesium- and calcium-rich brines can be more promising for preparing Mg(OH)2-based building materials relative to seawater.