Quantitative design of seed load for solution cooling crystallization based on kinetic analysis

Seed load of crystallization has a direct effect on the product qualities. To further reveal the effects of seed load on crystallization kinetics and improve the product size distribution, the aqueous solution of potassium nitrate (KNO3–H2O) is employed as a model system and the relevant kinetic experiments are conducted in a batch cooling crystallizer. The crystal nucleation and growth rate parameters are firstly estimated with the concentration and transmittance data using a mathematical model reported in our lab, and then the backward calculations with the help of the model parameters are successfully performed. It is found that the nucleation capacity decreases and growth capacity increases with increasing seed load, and the size distribution of crystal products tends to be more uniform. However, with the increasing of seed load, the linear growth rate of single crystal and the mean size of products both reduce accordingly. Based on the calculational and experimental results, a quantitative design scheme concerning seed load is proposed by further kinetic analyses, and the corresponding verification experiments are carried out. The results show that under the guidance of the proposed scheme, the size distribution of crystal products is more concentrated and the mean size of final particles can also escape from reducing obviously.