Calcium Chloride Brine for Salalah Fish Cold Stores and Ice Plants
If your Salalah cold store or block ice plant runs a brine circuit, calcium chloride brine is the liquid that carries the cold from the evaporator to the ice cans, freezer coils or air coolers. We supply calcium chloride as white powder in 50 Kg bags and jumbo bags, and as a technical grade 35% Wt solution. Both are delivered from our Barka warehouse to Salalah and the rest of Dhofar. The right choice depends on whether you mix brine on site or top up a running system. The strength you need depends on the lowest temperature in your circuit.
Why Dhofar cold stores and ice plants use calcium chloride brine
A catch landed at Salalah, Mirbat or Taqah needs ice within hours and frozen storage soon after. Many block ice plants and older cold stores in the region chill a tank or loop of brine and use that brine to freeze cans of water or to cool air coolers. The refrigerant stays inside a compact machine room, and the brine does the work across the plant.
Calcium chloride is used for this brine because it dissolves well in water and lowers the freezing point much further than common salt. Sodium chloride brine stops at about minus 21 °C. A calcium chloride brine of the right strength stays liquid well below the temperatures a fish freezer or ice plant runs at. Our product records list brine for refrigeration plants as a standard use of calcium chloride, alongside dust control and concrete work.
Which form to order: solid or 35% solution
This site carries two main calcium chloride options for brine work. Calcium Chloride powder, part number RXSOL-19-6010-025, is CaCl2, CAS 10043-52-4, formula weight 110.98 g/mol, white powder with an assay of ≥ 97.0 % by EDTA titration. The same specification is also listed under part number RXSOL-60-6010-025. Both come in 50 Kg bags and jumbo bags.
Calcium Chloride Solution, part number RXSOL-67-6202-220, is a technical grade 35% Wt solution supplied for brine evaporator systems. It comes in ISO tanks, IBC tank or HMHDPE barrel, with 30, 60 and 250 kg liquid packing.
Our records also list other calcium chloride grades: lumps (70%-75%), powder (90%-96%) and liquid (30%-35%). There is an anhydrous grade at 95%+/-1% with an assay of 99.5 % Min, packed in 40 kgs HDPE bags for lumps and 50 Kgs bags for powder. A dihydrate grade at 75-80%, CAS 10035-04-8, has an assay of 75% Minimum and comes in 50 kgs HDPE bags. Tell us which grade your plant manual calls for when you ask for a quote.
Powder works for plants that have a mixing tank and a transfer pump. Bags store more easily than liquid in a warehouse that gets hot. The solution skips the mixing step and the heat that comes with dissolving the solid, so it works well for topping up a running system or for sites with no mixing tank.
| Item | Calcium Chloride (solid) | Calcium Chloride Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Part number | RXSOL-19-6010-025 / RXSOL-60-6010-025 | RXSOL-67-6202-220 |
| Application | Brine for refrigeration plants, ice and dust control on roads, concrete | Used in Brine Evaporator |
| Technical specs | CaCl2, CAS 10043-52-4, formula weight 110.98 g/mol, white powder, assay ≥ 97.0 % (EDTA titration) | Technical Grade, 35% Wt solution |
| Packing | 50 Kg, JUMBO BAG | ISO tanks / IBC TANK / HMHDPE Barrel; 30, 60, 250 kg liquid packing |
| MSDS | On request | On request |
How to make up and check the brine
Our product records do not give one fixed dosage, because the brine strength depends on the lowest evaporator temperature in your circuit. In industrial refrigeration the usual practice is to mix brine so its freezing point sits several degrees below the coldest point in the system. You then confirm the strength with a hydrometer against the brine tables in your plant manual or from your refrigeration contractor.
When you dissolve solid calcium chloride, add the salt slowly to the water while stirring. Never pour water onto a heap of salt. Calcium chloride gives off heat as it dissolves, so the tank warms up and a careless mix can splash hot brine. Let the brine cool and settle before you take a hydrometer reading, because a warm sample gives a false strength.
Check specific gravity and pH on a fixed schedule. Brine gets weaker when ice cans leak, when condensate drips into the tank or when someone hoses down the brine pit. You bring it back up by adding more powder or 35% solution, then reading the hydrometer again.
Controlling corrosion in brine tanks and coolers
Calcium chloride brine corrodes mild steel, galvanised tanks and cast iron pump parts. Corrosion gets worse when the brine takes in air or turns acidic. Keep the circuit closed where the design allows, keep the brine tank covered, and keep the brine slightly alkaline as your contractor specifies.
Where corrosion is a concern, we also supply calcium chloride with corrosion inhibitors, part number RXSOL-60-6520-025. The inhibitors reduce the corrosive effects of calcium chloride on materials including metals and concrete. Check with us before you add it to brine that is already in service.
Where calcium chloride brine is used in Salalah and Dhofar
The main users in the south are block ice plants that supply the fishing boats at Salalah, Mirbat, Taqah, Sadah and Shuwaymiyah. Next come fish processing plants and cold stores around Raysut and the Salalah Free Zone that hold frozen catch before it ships out through Salalah port. Brine chillers in food and beverage plants and process cooling loops in other Dhofar industry use the same chemistry.
In a can ice plant the brine stays outside the cans and does not touch the ice or the fish. The 35% solution is technical grade. If your process puts brine in direct contact with food, tell us when you ask for a quote so we can check the grade with you.
Packing, storage, safety and delivery from Barka
Calcium chloride takes up moisture from the air. Crystals first swell, then melt into brine if the air is humid enough. During the khareef months in Salalah, keep bags sealed, on pallets and away from steel racking. Open only what you will mix that day.
The MSDS for RXSOL-60-6010-025 states: causes irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory tract. Harmful if swallowed or inhaled. Wear gloves, goggles and a dust mask when you open bags and mix brine, and rinse splashes off skin with plenty of water. We send the MSDS with the quote on request.
Bagged powder and solution both go from our Barka warehouse to Salalah and other Dhofar sites. The powder is listed in our Sewage Chemicals Treatment category.
Where to buy calcium chloride in Salalah and Oman
Salalah Chemical (RXSOL group, Oman), Barka warehouse, deliveries to Salalah and Dhofar. Phone +968 77333599, WhatsApp +968 77333599, email muscatchem@gmail.com. Send us your brine tank volume, target brine temperature and the form you prefer, and we will reply with a quote.
If your company also runs a cold store or plant in the north, anhydrous calcium chloride is listed on our Sohar site and on our Muscat site.
Frequently asked questions
What strength of calcium chloride brine does an ice plant need?
That depends on the lowest evaporator temperature in your circuit. Mix the brine so its freezing point sits several degrees below that point, then confirm with a hydrometer against your plant's brine tables. We supply solid calcium chloride and a 35% Wt solution so you can reach the strength your design calls for.
Can I use the 35% solution as delivered?
Calcium Chloride Solution, RXSOL-67-6202-220, is a technical grade 35% Wt solution supplied for brine evaporator systems. Whether you use it as delivered or dilute it depends on the design strength of your system, so check with your refrigeration contractor.
What packing do you offer for calcium chloride?
The solid comes in 50 Kg bags and jumbo bags. The solution comes in ISO tanks, IBC tank or HMHDPE barrel, with 30, 60 and 250 kg liquid packing.
Do you deliver calcium chloride to Salalah and Mirbat?
Yes. We dispatch from our Barka warehouse to Salalah and other sites in Dhofar. Give us the site location with your enquiry.
Is an MSDS available?
Yes, we send the MSDS on request with the quote.
To order calcium chloride for your cold store or ice plant, request a quote or send your tank size and target temperature on WhatsApp to +968 77333599.
Frequently asked questions
What strength of calcium chloride brine does an ice plant need?
That depends on the lowest evaporator temperature in your circuit. Mix the brine so its freezing point sits several degrees below that point, then confirm with a hydrometer against your plant's brine tables. We supply solid calcium chloride and a 35% Wt solution so you can reach the strength your design calls for.
Can I use the 35% solution as delivered?
Calcium Chloride Solution, RXSOL-67-6202-220, is a technical grade 35% Wt solution supplied for brine evaporator systems. Whether you use it as delivered or dilute it depends on the design strength of your system, so check with your refrigeration contractor.
What packing do you offer for calcium chloride?
The solid comes in 50 Kg bags and jumbo bags. The solution comes in ISO tanks, IBC tank or HMHDPE barrel, with 30, 60 and 250 kg liquid packing.
Do you deliver calcium chloride to Salalah and Mirbat?
Yes. We dispatch from our Barka warehouse to Salalah and other sites in Dhofar. Give us the site location with your enquiry.
Is an MSDS available?
Yes, we send the MSDS on request with the quote.