Some physicochemical properties of Çankırı rock salt which is being sold in Çankırı

The purpose of this study is to determine the characteristic feature of Çankırı rock salt and to show that it is not a mineral source. In this context, heavy metal contents and trace elements of rock salt samples obtained from Çankırı market were determined by ICP-MS analysis. As the result of the analysis it was determined that the samples do not contain the following elements; Al, Ni, Fe, Co, Sn, Sb, Li and also toxic heavy metals such as As, Hg, Pb, Cd. The elements which were detected in rock salt samples are: Ti, V, Mn, Mg, Ca, Cu, Zn ve Ba. Titanium (Ti) concentration range was measured as 0,3±0,8 µg kg-1, while vanadium (V) concentration range was 0,2 ± 0,7 µg kg^(-1). The concentration range of Manganese (Mn) which is one of the essential-trace elements was measured as 6,7±25,7 µg kg^(-1). The concentration range of Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Copper (Cu) were found to be 569,7±775,2 mg kg^(-1), 40,7±77,6 mg kg^(-1) and 0,1±5,6 µg kg^(-1)respectively. Also the amount of the Zinc (Zn) mineral in salt samples was measured as 102,3±365,2 µg kg^(-1). Barium (Ba) , which is known as a toxic element was found in all rock salt samples and its concentration range was found to be 2816,4±589,3 µg kg^(-1) which shows that its concentration in samples is below the limits. Although the concentration of other elements were high, a significant result can not be reached in terms of consumption of salt as a mineral source. It is aimed to identify rock salt samples at molecular level in FT-IR analysis. The FT-IR spectrum ranges obtained are as follows: 151-156 cm^(-1), 532-550 cm^(-1), 854-866〖 cm〗^(-1), 1526-1528 cm^(-1), 1970-1996 cm^(-1), 2042-2050 cm^(-1). Based on these results, it has been determined that rock salt samples are similar to each other. Additionally , micro photographs of the samples were taken in order to see the impurities in Çankırı rock salt. The images proved that Çankırı rock salt is of high purity. As a result, Çankırı rock salt is important in that it does not contain heavy metals, has a low degree of impurity and contains some trace minerals. However, it is insufficient in terms of being a mineral source.