Ultrasound in Continuous Tubular Crystallizers: Parameters Affecting the Nucleation Rate

Abstract

Ultrasound has proven to be an important tool for controlling nucleation in continuous tubular crystallizers. However, insufficient information is available about the parameters controlling the nucleation rate in a continuous ultrasonic process. Previous research has studied parameters related to the nucleation rate, but has not measured the nucleation rate directly or continuously. In this work, the nucleation rate is measured continuously and inline to solve this problem and achieve a better process understanding. The results indicate that the ultrasound-assisted nucleation process is presumably dominated by secondary nucleation. Additionally, the supersaturation, residence time and flow rate have a strong influence on the nucleation rate. On the other hand, the influence of the ultrasonic power is crucial but levels off once a certain amount of power is reached. The static pressure in the system determines the effective ultrasonic power and is therefore also important for the nucleation rate. Finally, maintaining an equal power per unit of volume and an equal residence time by increasing the tubing diameter seems to be a good scale-up method. These results will improve understanding of ultrasonic tubular crystallizers and how to control them.