AGGLOMERATION DURING PRECIPITATION .2. MECHANISM DEDUCTION FROM TRACER DATA

A novel approach using a 2-D population balance model is developed and applied to the analysis of experimental tracer crystal data. This app roach is effective in discriminating among various functional forms of agglomeration kernel and enables estimation of the agglomeration kine tics. At present, the analysis is restricted to three simple agglomera tion kernels and shows that the size-independent kernel best describes the agglomeration of Al(OH)(3) crystals during precipitation in caust ic aluminate solutions. This agrees with the findings of Ilievski and White (1994). Estimates of the agglomeration kinetic parameters from t he tracer data agree well with the experimentally observed values.