THE EFFECTS OF SURFACTANTS ON CRYSTALLIZATION PHENOMENA

Crystallization phenomena and processes may be greatly affected by the addition of surfactants, which play an important role in nucleation and growth kinetics and can substantially modify both habit and size distribution of crystal products. Moreover, scaling in industrial equipments and caking in storage tanks can be reduced and re-dissolution more easily accomplished. All these effects are related to adsorption of surfactant molecules onto crystal faces. Other applications of surfactants in crystallization processes involve nucleation induced by amphiphilic films, and micelle or microemulsion solubilization of nuclei. The above aspects are thoroughly reviewed through literature data.