Effect of Additive EDTA on Crystallization Process of Magnesium Hydroxide Precipitation

The effects of additive ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on crystallization process were investigated by the induction time of MgSO4-NaOH system. Nucleation and growth rates, growth mechanism and particle size distribution of magnesium hydroxide precipitation were involved with. The induction time in unseeded and seeded precipitation of magnesium hydroxide with and without additive EDTA was measured. The conductivity method was used to determine the induction period. Theoretical relations of the induction time and supersaturation ratio for different growth mechanisms and a combined analysis on the induction time were applied to determine nucleation and growth rates. The growth mechanism of magnesium hydroxide precipitation was disclosed by analyzing the experimental data with and without additive. The analysis on induction time indicated that additive EDTA had a significant influence on both nucleation and growth of magnesium hydroxide precipitation. The mechanism underlying the effect of EDTA on crystal growth was 2-dimension nucleation-mediated growth model.