In
situ studies of methyl stearate growing from supersaturated n-dodecane, kerosene, and toluene solutions reveal strong
evidence that solvent choice influences the crystal morphology and
crystal growth kinetics. Crystals with similar habit are observed
in all solvents, with the exception of lower supersaturations in kerosene,
where a less symmetric morphology was observed. BFDH analysis based
on the monoclinic C2 crystal structure of methyl
stearate yielded the morphological indexation to be (110), (1–10),
(−110), and (−1–10) for the dominant observed
habit and (110) (1–10) (−1–10) (−240)
(−3–10) for the less symmetric habit observed in kerosene
solvent. Measurements of the growth rate for the (110) and (1–10)
faces are similar for all solutions ranging from 0.02 to 1.13 μm/s,
for significantly lower values of supersaturation in the case of toluene.
The tendency of the growth rate dependence on σ was consistent
with the Burton-Cabrera-Frank (BCF) growth mechanism in n-dodecane, the Birth and Spread (B&S) mechanism in kerosene and
diffusion controlled in toluene solvent.
A1. Morphological analysis A1. BFDH and zone axis methods A1. Crystal growth kinetics and rates A1. In-situ optical microscopy A1. Kinetic roughening B1. N-alkanes a b s t r a c t A detailed analysis of the crystal morphology of triclinic n-docosane (C 22 H 46 ) is presented together with a preliminary assessment of the supersaturation-dependence of the growth rates for the predicted hkl ð Þ faces. A methodology to index the experimentally observed crystal faces, based on a combined BFDH and zone axis methodology is defined. Analysis using this methodology yields the morphological indexation of n-docosane to be (001), (112), (102), (010), and (1 À 33) or (130) based on the expected triclinic crystal structure. Crystals of n-docosane growing from supersaturated n-dodecane (C 12 H 26 ) solutions, as studied using in-situ optical microscopy, at three different supersaturation (σ) levels 0.01, 0.02 and 0.05, reveal that the crystal morphology changes with increasing in supersaturation, evolving from a habit consistent with a triclinic crystal system to a habit that is perhaps more representative of an orthorhombic structure. Growth rates determined for the (112) and (102) faces as well as for those less dominant faces range between 0.51 and 9.85 mm/s, in good agreement with previously reported data for other organic molecules including n-alkanes.
Crystallization
studies of methyl stearate from supersaturated
dodecane, kerosene, and toluene solutions reveal strong evidence that
solvent choice influences solubility and nucleation behavior. Solute
solubility is less than ideal with toluene, kerosene, and dodecane,
respectively, exhibiting the closest behavior to ideality, the latter
consistent with the highest solvation. Polythermal crystallization
studies using the Kashchiev–Borissova–Hammond–Roberts
(KBHR) model [J. Phys. Chem. B20101145441; J. Cryst. Growth2010312698; CrystEngComm201416974] reveal a progressive nucleation (PN) mechanism with crystallite
interfacial tension (γeff) values between 0.94 and
1.55 mJ/m2, between 1.21 and 1.91 mJ/m2, and
between 1.18 and 1.88 mJ/m2 for dodecane, kerosene, and
toluene, respectively. Nucleation rates at the critical undercooling
lie between 4.56 × 1016 and 1.79 × 1017 nuclei/mL·s, with the highest rates associated with crystallization
from kerosene solutions. Iso-supersaturation nucleation rates are
the highest for dodecane ranging from 2.39 × 1017 to
3.63 × 1018 nuclei/mL·s. Nucleation in toluene
appears to be hindered by its relatively higher interfacial tension,
which is associated with nucleation rates about an order of magnitude
less than those obtained for dodecane.
A detailed knowledge of the metastable zone width (MSZW) and nucleation kinetics is vital for the design of batch cooling crystallization processes. Factors such as cooling rate and impeller speed affect the MSZW and nucleation kinetics. Crystallization and dissolution temperatures were measured as a function of cooling rate and impeller speed during the batch cooling crystallization of p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) from ethanol in a 0.5-L stirred-tank crystallizer. The polythermal experimental data were analyzed using the Nyvlt and first principlesbased Kashchiev-Borissova-Hammond-Roberts (KBHR) methods. In all experimental cases, the latter model revealed that the nucleation process of pABA in ethanol was dominated by an instantaneous nucleation mechanism. The Nyvlt and KBHR analyses delivered a range of parameter values associated with a power-law model describing the nucleation rate as well as the concentration of nuclei.
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