The Dead Sea, as its name suggests, is so lifeless that even bacteria cannot survive in its waters. However, this salt lake, located at the lowest point on earth, is far from useless.
by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
The banks, bed and waters of the Dead Sea are a natural repository of certain minerals found in seemingly unlimited supply. For example, it could be the world's sole source of magnesium for an estimated 25,000 years, claims Dr. Eli Egyon, Director of Research at Dead Sea Magnesium in Be'er Sheva.
Magnesium is lightweight, it doesn't rust, and it is very durable; this makes it a valuable metal, not least for use in the automobile industry. For this reason, dozens of experts and senior executives of companies such as Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat, General Motors, Chrysler, Daimler and Nissan recently arrived at the shores of the Dead Sea for a conference on magnesium.
To produce magnesium salts, water from the Dead Sea is exposed in evaporation pools, and the salts are extracted by an electrolytic process. These can then be used for manufacturing parts that make vehicles significantly lighter, more economical and safer, says Egyon, who chaired the magnesium conference together with Ben-Gurion University Professor Dan Eliezer.
Dead Sea Magnesium is jointly owned by Volkswagen and Israel Chemicals; their partnership is aimed at harvesting the Dead Sea raw materials to make parts for light but strong cars that are also more fuel-efficient. A low-polluting, 830-kilo Volkswagen car named Lupo TDi and built with several magnesium parts was put on display during the conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Ein Bokek (see photo).
A small number of Lupos, which run 100 kilometers on only three liters of petrol, are already on sale in Germany. Egyon calls it "the most fuel-efficient car of its size in the world." It carries four or five passengers and weighs some 300 kilograms less than a conventional car of its size; it also has a more fuel-efficient carburetor. "It is Volkswagen's flagship of environmental protection, as it uses less gasoline and pollutes less," he declares.
Egyon explains that while plastics and fiberglass are light in weight, they are not suitable for car bodies and parts because of the difficulty to recycle them; by contrast, 95 percent of magnesium parts can be recycled. Magnesium is also very ductile, absorbing shock energy like a sponge, thus providing better protection in road accidents.
While Israel is not geared to mass produce of magnesium cars, Egyon points out that it can use its practically endless supply of magnesium to make auto parts from the metal. "In five to ten years, this country could produce magnesium parts for 5,000 to 10,000 cars," he comments. The final product would be barely more expensive than if it were made of aluminum, which is also lightweight but in more limited supply.