Programmed cooling crystallization of potassium sulphate solutions

The crystal size distribution from a batch cooling crystallizer is predicted by the numerical solution of a mathematical model which uses empirical kinetics of nucleation and crystal growth. The predictions clearly point out the potential advantages of controlled cooling at a constant nucleation rate for improving the product crystal size over that obtained by either natural or linear cooling.Experimental runs following programmed cooling curves for seeded potassium sulphate solutions showed reasonable agreement with the theoretical predictions. A size dispersion of the crystals was observed which contributes to a slight deviation from theory. Nevertheless, controlled cooling significantly reduced the quantity of nuclei formed and improved the product crystal size distribution.