Wet-process
phosphoric acid is a fundamental process in the fertilizer
industry. The influence of impurities on crystallization kinetics
of CaSO
4
was investigated in the Ca(H
2
PO
4
)
2
–H
2
SO
4
–H
3
PO
4
–H
2
O system using a mixed
suspension mixed product removal crystallizer. Effects of Si, Al,
Fe, Mg, K, and Na on crystal morphology and structure were examined
in the highly acidic system through scanning electron microscopy and
high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Results show that
the increase of Mg, K, and Na content facilitates crystal growth.
Si, Al, and Fe are beneficial to CaSO
4
crystal growth at
a certain concentration range. Impurities also affect the crystal
morphology, and the addition of Si, Fe, and Na promotes the formation
of needle-like crystals compared with other impurities. X-ray diffraction
results show that the preferred crystal growth direction is (020),
and the interplanar spacing of the crystals is affected by the element
radius of the impurities.