Crystallization phenomena of magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) in a fluidized-bed-type crystallizer

Abstract

In this study, experiments using a fluidized crystallizer with added seed, were performed, to observe the crystal growth and nucleation phenomena of MAP, by changing the degree of supersaturation. The average growth rate of suspended seed crystals correlated relatively well with the degree of supersaturation to obtain the quantitative correlation equation. Also the average crystal growth rate was in good accordance with the crystal growth rate of the small crystals which comprised the seed crystal. This showed that crystal growth was preceeded by the growth of individual crystal is acting as one single seed crystal. But over a certain degree of supersaturation, the surface condition of grown seed crystals was observed to become rough. Concentration of fines was recognized to correlate with the degree of supersaturation, and excess fines were produced over the critical supersaturation, which was the same as when the surface condition of crystals became rough. The critical supersaturation was considered to offer some design criteria for stable operation in the magnesium ammonium phosphate crystallization in the environmental field.