The nearest prospect of iodine production in Ukraine

Abstract

Ukraine ranks the last place in Europe in iodized salt consumption per head of population, and mandatory salt iodization level has not yet been legalized. Iodine deficiency causes growth inhibition and memory impairment in children, efficiency decrease and endocrine system diseases – in adults. Iodized salt has not been widely used in Ukraine and the increase in the laminaria prices has been constraining its consumption. Since 1972 iodine reserves of Ukraine are recorded to be found in the waters of Severo-Sivaskoye field in Azov Sea, but due to high cost of drilling the offshore wells, iodine had not been extracted from the reservoir. The growing demand of Ukraine for iodine is met by its import from the producing countries. The rate of consolidated sediments accumulation in Krukenitsk depression of the Sarmatian basin reached 1 cm/year, and its current thickness is 6 (!) km. Formation waters from wells overfilled from flow rates up to 300 m3/d. The layers of oligomictic and polymictic sandstones with carbonaceous cement thickness up to 5 m, porosity up to 26 %, permeability –10 mD and carbonate content level up to 20 % serve as reservoirs of formation waters in Sarmatian molasses. There are no records of regularities in change of iodine content in waters of Krukenitsk depression; iodine concentration in Chop-Mukachevo depression increases to the southwest from the axis of the Vihorlat-Gutin Area. Iodinated waters contain dissolved hydrocarbon gas in small volumes with a methane content of up to 92 %. The iodine resources estimated within the studied areas of 15 km2 at Krukenitsky depression and 10 km2 at Chop-Mukachevo depression, allow its profitable commercial production for more than 50 years. Waste formation waters will be disposed through available highly permeable aquifers. In order to perform iodine production feasibility evaluation, further formation water study and detailed iodine compounds analyses are needed.