Crystals 2017, 7(7), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7070195
Ultrasound Assisted Particle Size Control by Continuous Seed Generation and Batch Growth
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
2
Faculty of Engineering Technology, KU Leuven, Agoralaan Building B Box 8, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Judy Lee
Received: 10 April 2017 / Revised: 16 June 2017 / Accepted: 22 June 2017 / Published: 29 June 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Ultrasound Stimulated Crystallization)
Abstract
Controlling particle size is essential for crystal quality in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Several articles illustrate the potential of ultrasound to tune this particle size during the crystallization process. This paper investigates how ultrasound can control the particle size distribution (PSD) of acetaminophen crystals by continuous seed generation in a tubular crystallizer followed by batch growth. It is demonstrated that the supersaturation ratio at which ultrasound starts seed generation has a substantial effect on the final PSD while the applied power is insignificant in the studied conditions. The higher the supersaturation ratio, the smaller the final crystals become up to a supersaturation ratio of 1.56. Furthermore, it was shown that ultrasound can also impact the final PSD when applied during the growth phase. Frequencies of 850 kHz or below reduce the final particle size; the lower the applied frequency, the smaller the crystals become. In conclusion, one could state that ultrasound is able to control the particle size during seed generation and subsequent growth until the final particle size. View Full-TextKeywords:
sonocrystallization; particle size control; acoustic cavitation; continuous seeding; semi-continuous crystallization; process intensification; cooling crystallization
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Jordens, J.; Canini, E.; Gielen, B.; Van Gerven, T.; Braeken, L. Ultrasound Assisted Particle Size Control by Continuous Seed Generation and Batch Growth. Crystals 2017, 7, 195.
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