Particle size distribution design of limited agglomeration via geometric
morphology in erythritol crystallization
Abstract
Regarding sugar and salt crystallization with large single crystals, the
agglomerate thermodynamics and geometric morphologies, not the dynamics,
dominate the particle size distribution (PSD). To consider this issue, a
PSD design model is proposed for limited large crystal agglomeration. In
this model, the agglomeration thermodynamic criticality is determined by
estimating the adhesion and dispersion forces between single crystals.
The geometric agglomerate morphologies are described by corresponding
single crystal units stacking with porosity. By seed well-controlled of
population, the key parameters of PSD (D01, D50 and D99) are precisely
designed. For erythritol, the model design accuracies are 92%-99% in
the 1.2 L and 10 L crystallizers, indicating that it can design PSD at
various crystallization scales. Concerning the general research
attention to microcrystal agglomeration kinetics (mostly active
pharmaceutical ingredients), this model effectively guides the sugar and
salt PSD design with limited large crystal agglomeration.