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PARK CITY — When it comes to the subject of salt, few people are as expert as Ogden resident Guy Wilkins.
An authority on solar salt production, Wilkins, 97, worked in the salt industry for over 50 years in locations across the globe. His expertise in sodium chloride field is well-known, so much so he was recognized at the 2018 World Salt Symposium hosted in Park City this week.
Wilkins made a name for himself developing formulas that helped salt-making plants operate more efficiently. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin in mechanical engineering, he said he caught a break early in his career when some of the calculations he had worked on proved useful to industry producers.
"I, fortunately, had a couple of successes fixing problems that other people hadn't been able to fix," he said. Speaking of the recognition from his colleagues at the symposium, he said, "It's nice to have people think you're worthwhile and doing something that is useful."
The World Salt Symposia is an ongoing international conference of scientists from around the globe that gathers to offer presentations and research papers that comprise "every issue of the salt sector," according to the World Salt Symposium website. The writings cover various topics, including geology, geochemistry, mineralogy and tectonics of salt.
Based on measured evaporation, the formulas Wilkins devised were applied to operating facilities with at least a 10-year history of weather data and actual salt production, he explained. The formulas are now incorporated into computer programs that are used in feasibility work, he said.
It's nice to have people think you're worthwhile and doing something that is useful.
–Guy Wilkins, 2018 World Salt Symposium honoree
Noting that most people rarely think of salt in their everyday lives except for food, Wilkins noted its use in many other ways, including heavy chemicals, plastics and ladies cosmetics.
"Salt-based chemicals are the basis for all that," he said.
The current three-day conference is the 10th such event, which was launched in 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio. While Wilkins missed the inaugural event, the first symposium he attended was in 1965 and he spoke at symposia in India and China.
Much of Wilkins' research and work was focused on solar salt, which has had impurities in the raw mineral removed by recrystallization. The final product is made by taking a salt brine, which can either be sea water or salt that is dissolved from an underground mineral deposit and allowing it to evaporate in large outdoor ponds that are warmed by sunlight.
Solar salt is used in products such as water treatment and water softeners.
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Over time, the technology for producing salt and the range of its uses have developed dramatically, calling for an expanded focus on the science and technology of salt, explained Lori Roman, chairwoman of the World Salt Symposium. She noted that scientists and industry leaders use the event to follow new developments and exchange ideas that can be used to improve life around the world.
Over the course of the conference, researchers and industry analysts will discuss new and emerging technology, scientific breakthroughs and salt production, among numerous other topics, she noted.
"We have some of the most important medical, salt and health researchers in the world here this week," she said.
"From a health standpoint, salt is absolutely essential to human life," she said. "Most people don't realize it, but that saline (IV) bag used in the health industry is lifesaving."
Additionally, salt is used to clear roads in the winter and also for a number of other common uses, she said.
"It touches your life in so many ways, you don't even think about it," Roman said.
