STUDY ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION KINETICS OF DECAHYDRATED SODIUM-SULFATE

The objective of this work was to determine the crystallization kinetics of decahydrated sodium sulphate (Glauber salt) including the study of the influence of agitation velocity and suspension density in a 3,2 liters capacity MSMPR continuous crystallizer. The work was done with reidence times between 0,48 and 0,89 hrs, agitation velocities of 400, 500 and 600 r.p.m. and with crystallizations of sodium sulphate solutions by cooling from 25 to 18-degrees-C. It was found that the crystallization kinetics of Glauber salt is represented by the equation: B = 1.014 (G)1 (M-tau)1.86 (TIPS)5.58 in which B is the nucleation velocity (#/lh), G is the growth velocity (mm/h), M-tau is the suspension density (g/l) and TIPS is the peripheral velocity of the rotor (m/s).