Can anything be added to saline and/or sodic water to “treat” (or clean) the water?
There are no amendments, chemicals, or additives available commercially that can be added to saline water to make the salt go away. Dilution with a non-saline water or salt precipitation with an evaporation process which leaves the salt behind and traps the evaporated water can be used. Dilution of saline irrigation water is only possible if there is a source of non-saline water with which to dilute the saline water. The evaporation and salt precipitation treatment process may not be economical or feasible with large quantities of saline irrigation water. It is possible to alter the chemistry of sodic water by adding calcium and magnesium. This will not eliminate or reduce the sodium, but will change the ratio of sodium to other salts. The net result is more saline water; sodium salt cannot be “neutralized.
There are no amendments, chemicals, or additives available commercially that can be added to saline water to make the salt go away. Dilution with a non-saline water or salt precipitation with an evaporation process which leaves the salt behind and traps the evaporated water can be used. Dilution of saline irrigation water is only possible if there is a source of non-saline water with which to dilute the saline water. The evaporation and salt precipitation treatment process may not be economical or feasible with large quantities of saline irrigation water. It is possible to alter the chemistry of sodic water by adding calcium and magnesium. This will not eliminate or reduce the sodium, but will change the ratio of sodium to other salts.
