The Ninth International Symposium on Salt and the Ecological Importance of Solar Saltworks

The Ninth International Symposium on Salt (www.worldsalt2009.com) organized by China
National Salt Industry Corporation, China Salt Association and many other salt organizations
of the world was held in the Beijing International Convention Center on the 4-7 September
2009. It is the ninth in a series of symposia since 1962 when the first meeting held in
Cleveland, USA. The World Symposia on Salt specialize in reporting and discussing progress
of the latest development and views of salt industry world wide. They cover the whole
spectrum of subjects dealing with the science, engineering, technology, economics and
history of all type of salts and other evaporites.
One hundred eighty five (185) papers were presented in six parallel sessions grouped into the
following topics:
1. Vacuum Salt Production and Reduction of Energy Consumption in Salt Production
2. Rock Salt Production and Utilization
3. Sea/Lake Salt and Biology
4. Salt Chemical Production
5. Salt Culture, History and Education
6. Salt and Health
7. Salt Processing and Quality Assurance
8. Iodized Salt for IDD Elimination
9. Salt Marketing
More than twenty presentations were related to biological process of Solar Saltworks and
their Ecological Importance, among 75 presentations that were dedicated to Solar Saltworks.
The present work focuses on the presentations and also the discussions that took place in
Beijing Salt Symposium that are mainly related to the topics of the 1st and 2nd International
Conferences on the Ecological Importance of Solar Saltworks (1st and 2nd CEISSA, www.alasecology.
org, www.gnest.org) held in Santorini, Greece, 2006 and Merida, Mexico, 2009
respectively.