The growth and dissolution of sodium chloride in a fluidized bed crystallizer

The growth and dissolution rates of NaCl crystals were investigated in a fl uidized bed crystallizer. In the experiments the supersaturation and impuri ty concentration in the solution were varied. The growth rate was interpret ed in terms of supersaturation levels. The orders and rate constants were r eported. The effectiveness factors were estimated from the growth rate data to evaluate the relative magnitude of the two resistances in series, diffu sion and integration. The effectiveness factor results indicate that the co ntrolling mechanism is contributing by means of the diffusion and the integ ration steps on the crystal growth of NaCl from pure solution. However, the presence of impurities lead to a more important role of the integration st ep. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.