CRYSTALLIZATION AND PRECIPITATION ENGINEERING .4. KINETIC-MODEL OF ADIPIC ACID CRYSTALLIZATION

A complete description of adipic crystallization from an aqueous solution is presented, including nucleation, growth and agglomeration. Crystallization is carried out in a semi-batch isothermal crystallizer fed by a hot solution of adipic acid. The conductivity of the solution is monitored and the CSD is sampled out as a function of time. As different kinetic processes control the successive steps of the crystallization, the kinetic model, which involves eight parameters, can be fitted by optimization of at most four parameters simultaneously. A good agreement is found between model predictions and experimental data. The model is shown to be valid to represent the crystallization of adipic acid in an MSMPR crystallizer.