The Saltworks of Twekkelo:

Shall we dive straight into the topic of this story: the Salt Works of Twekkelo?
During my visit to the small town of Twekkelo (located in the Netherlands), I learned a lot about the differences between the salt production in Tunisia and the Netherlands.

Something what I noticed was... wait a minute! I noticed that I haven't even introduced myself.
I'm so excited about this topic that I completely forgot to introduce myself.
My name is Rihab Debbabi and I'm from Monastir, Tunisia.
I visited Twekkelo on October 11, 2024, to gather more information for this subject.
I'm writing this article on behalf of the "Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines de Kairouan" to draw more attention to the salt works in Monastir. I'm particularly interested in two questions:
- What will Tunisia do when the salt water runs out?
- Can we apply the current technology from the Netherlands into the Tunisian industry?
The answers of these two questions you can find it at the bottom of the page, but first, I'd like to tell you something about the history.
Shall we continue in the next paragraph where we left off?

As I just mentioned, during my visit to the salt works in Twekkelo, I noticed that they use a completely different method than in Tunisia.
In Tunisia, they mainly extract salt from the Sebkha, and in the Netherlands, they extract salt from as deep as 500 meters underground.

Before we dig into the explanation of how the Dutch salt works operate, I want to tell you a little bit more about the history to understand where the high concentration of salt in the Dutch soil is coming from:
"The massive amount of rock salt in the Netherlands is a result of geological processes from hundreds of millions of years ago.
In the geological era of the Paleozoic* (Greek for old life), Western Europe was covered by an inland sea.
Eventually, the sea evaporated, and the salt was gradually buried under the soil over all those years."

*The Paleozoic is an era in the geological timescale that defines the period of Earth's history between 541 and 251.902 million years ago*

The photo below provides a realistic view of an artesian well used during Dutch salt production

1: Aquafier
2: (Hardened) Impermeable layer
3: Groundwater recharge by rainfall
4: Artificial artesian well (borehole)
5: Groundwater level
6: Observation well
7: Natural artesian spring

Once the salt water in Tunisia is not enough, or if they can no longer continue their current method for any reason, I believe that the following method would be an excellent alternative to prevent the salt industry from disappearing.

I understand that it's difficult to grasp the full picture with just a photo, so should I help you a little bit?
Below, I'll give you a small and clear description of each point to let you understand the Dutch Saltworks.
1: Aquifer: By filling this area with water, the salt (2) will dissolve in the water, a process known as brining*.
2: (Hardened) Impermeable layer: This is the salt layer.
3: Groundwater recharge by rainfall: As the description suggests.
4: Artificial artesian well (borehole): A hole more or less than 300-500 meters deep in the ground to pump the brine* upwards.
5: Groundwater level: The current water level of the groundwater.
6: Observation well: A monitoring point to measure the groundwater level.
7: Natural artesian spring: Water that naturally flows from the ground due to the hydrostatic pressure in the groundwater.

Photo 1 shows one of the old drilling towers that drilled a hole in the ground and pumped the brine* upwards.
The water was then transported, as it is today, to another location where the brine* was converted into salt for the food industry.
In the past, most of the work was done by hand and horse. Right now, they use automated pumps and pipelines.

Photo 2 shows a salt house that is still in use today, functioning similarly to an old drilling tower. There are more than 250 of these houses in the entire region, each with the same purpose: to drill the brined* groundwater from the ground and pump it into Nobian (a salt factory) to convert the brine* into salt for the food industry.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to enter the drilling tower, the salt house, or the factory.
Photo 3 shows that access is not allowed. These signs can be found on every salt house.

*Brine: Water with a high salt content*

The difference in the way of working:

There are no major differences between the Netherlands and Tunisia, both of them filter the salt directly from the salted water.
The only difference is the way of the working methods and the technology that they use.
I would like to delve deeper into the technology what they use in The Netherlands.

Solar panels:
As you can see in photo 1, I have drawn an arrow pointing to the solar panels mounted on the salt houses.
Not only on the salt houses, but throughout the whole Netherlands, you can see these types of solar panels on businesses and houses. Everyone knows that the Netherlands has little to no sun. But still, these solar panels are ideal tools to provide the installation with free and natural energy.

Yes, it takes time and money to install and purchase these, but on the long term, it is a great investment.
Below I have listed a number of pros and cons:
+ Cost-saving
+ Less use of raw materials
+ Less dependent on other companies
+ Lower CO2 emissions
+ Takes up little space
+ Fits on every electrical installation
+ Can provide businesses and homes with (free) natural energy

- Cost-saving in the long term
- High purchase costs
- Installation must be converted to electric

Wind turbines:
Beside the use of solar panels, I would also like to highlight wind turbines.
As soon as you set foot in the Netherlands, you can't miss them; you see them everywhere!
This invention is not new in the Netherlands, only the model is different than before.
In the past, windmills were used to make paint, cut wood, pump water, and much more.
Today, the older models are no longer needed due to the renewed technology.

However, one type of mill has made a breakthrough with today's technology: "The Wind Turbine".
The wind turbine has only one purpose, and that is to generate energy by using the wind from nature.
If we look on a yearly basis, one wind turbine (in the Netherlands) generates enough energy for over 2000 households.

I understand that the climate in Tunisia is quite different from the one in the Netherlands, but looking at the numbers, it should be possible to apply this technology to businesses and houses in Tunisia as well.
To let you understand the statistics and what I'm talking about, I have added some photos below.
Later, I will explain you why I think that it's possible to use more wind turbines in Tunisia.

I realize that it might seem a little bit over the top, but considering multiple factors, I believe this is an ideal solution.
Below, I have listed a number of pros and cons:
+ Cost-effective
+ Less use of raw materials
+ Less dependent on other companies
+ Lower CO2 emissions
+ Can provide businesses and homes with (free) natural energy

- Cost-saving in the long term
- Can be disturbing for local residents
- High purchase costs
- The power plant must have the capacity to store the energy

Applying the Dutch method:

Now that I have provided more clarity about my vision and how everything works, I hope that I have given you a better understanding of this subject. To come to an end of this subject, I would like to answer two relevant questions that would lead to a better conclusion for the salt industry in Tunisia.

What will Tunisia do when the salt water runs out?
There will come a time that it will no longer be possible to extract salt from the Sebkha. What will we do then? Will we import salt from other countries and pay a high price for a littlebit of salt on the table?

Earlier in this article (above the first photo), I explained the origin of the salt content in the Dutch soil. I don't believe that this situation only happend in the Netherlands. When we look at the history of the formation of the continents, there have been many changes over millions of years. Therefore, I propose to do more archaeological research at multiple locations in Tunisia to define the salt content of the Tunisian soil to a depth of minimum 500 meters. Once it has been clear and we found out that the soil contains a salt layer, it will be possible to use the Dutch method.

Can we apply the current technology from the Netherlands into the Tunisian industry?
Yes we can, but there needs to be a willingness to do so. The Netherlands has been using this technology for many years and the government sees the benefit of investing and improving it. With this article I hope to convince our government to do the same so we can improve our industrie and protect the valueble places that we still have.

Once the technology has been acquired, it's only a matter of maintenance. As I mentioned earlier, it takes time and money to realize all this, but you must not forget that these are two types of technologies that can be a great improvement in providing businesses and homes in Tunisia with (free) natural energy.

Conclusion:
I hope that by writing this article, we will open our eyes, be motivated to prevent future problems and to apply a new method to other areas in Tunisia where there is no Sebkha nearby.
Don't only focus on the short term, but look at how we are going to solve it in the long term.