In Situ Measurement of Solution Concentration during the Batch Cooling Crystallization of L-Glutamic Acid using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometrics

The in situ measurement of solution supersaturation associated with the batch cooling crystallization Of L-glutamic acid (LGA) at 500 mL and 20 L scale sizes is assessed via ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. A partial least squares chemometric calibration model was developed for the online prediction of LGA concentration from measured FTIR absorbance spectra overcoming some significant challenges related to the low sensitivity of LGA in the mid-IR frequency range, its low solubility in water, and its complex speciation chemistry. The solubility data of LGA in water over the temperature range from 40 to 80 degrees C, using ATR-FTIR, reveals excellent agreement with those obtained both from using a gravimetric method and literature data. The metastable zone width determined using the turbidimetric methods as a function of heating/cooling rates and solute concentration is found to increase with increasing cooling rate while it decreases with increasing solution concentration. Monitoring online crystallization via both spontaneous and seeded in 500 mL and 20 L crystallizers reveals good concentration predictions for seeded crystallization, while fouling of the ATR crystal prevents its routine use for unseeded crystallization studies. Higher supersaturation levels are found for the larger crystallizer scale-size consistent with enhancement of secondary nucleation at the smaller scale-size.