Simulation and new sensor technologies for industrial crystallization: A review

A significant proportion of materials are produced in crystalline form. Many of these crystals are produced by nucleation and growth from solution. In these processes, the control of the crystal size distribution can be critically important for efficient downstream operations such as filtration and drying, and product effectiveness (e.g., flowability, bioavailability, tablet stability). Such control has recently become possible due to new sensor technologies that can peer into the crystallization process as it occurs, and high resolution algorithms which can efficiently simulate crystallization processes. This paper provides an overview of recent advances in these areas.