Utilization of Solar Energy on Exploitation of Salt Lake Resources in Tibetan Plateau

Across Tibetan Plateau, there is bountiful solar energy and salt lake resource. However, the lack of the conventional energy for the mineral exploitation of the salt lake is a touchy issue. The solar energy utilization and the salt lake exploitation can be combined to bridge the gap between the energy demand and the economic development. Solar pond technique is a special way for the exploitation of the salt lake mineral resources by using the solar energy. In this paper, it was illustrated that Tibetan Plateau is an ideal place for the construction and operation of solar pond. Also, this paper described the significant superiority of solar pond crystallization compared with the natural evaporation crystallization in the mineral resource exploitation of the salt lake in Tibet. It was pointed out that the crystallization rate of the high added-value saline minerals, especially the lithium carbonate, can be speeded up in the solar pond, thereby increasing the production efficiency. In addition, the grade of lithium carbonate in the mixed salt can also be improved significantly, the salt product obtained from the solar pond can be used for the final fine processing directly. The research and development of the solar pond technology, which has very important significance in the utilization of the solar energy resource and the exploitation of the salt lake resource in Tibetan Plateau, should be paid more attention in the future.