Design of seed crystal specifications for start-up operation of a continuous MSMPR crystallizer

In the industrial crystallization, seeding technology is often used for start-up operation. The applications vary from batch to continuous crystallization. It is known that the required time for the start-up operation changes by seed crystal specifications experientially. In this study, designing seed crystal specifications for a continuous mixed-suspension mixed-product removal (MSMPR) crystallizer was investigated to shorten the required time for start-up operations. The changes of crystal size distribution (CSD) during start-up operation were simulated by using conventional MSMPR crystallizer model. It was shown that the addition of seed crystals in start-up operations had a remarkable influence on the changes in CSD. As a result of experiments and simulation with various specifications of seed crystals, a strategy to design adequate seed crystals was proposed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.