In situ investigation of growth rates and growth rate dispersion of α-lactose monohydrate crystals

Abstract

The growth rates and growth rate dispersion (GRD) of four different faces of α-lactose monohydrate crystal were measured at 30, 40 and 50 °C in the relative supersaturation range 0.55–2.33 in aqueous solutions. The overall growth rate of the crystal is around 50–60% of the (0 1 0) face of the crystal. The power law was applied to the growth rates of the four faces and the activation energies were calculated to be between 9.5 and 13.7 kcal/mol. This indicates a diffusion-controlled growth, but the exponents calculated are between 2.5 and 3.1 which are higher than unity. Introduction of critical supersaturation decreased the exponents to between 1.8 and 2.4. The variance of GRD for the (0 1 0) face is twice the variance of the GRD of the (1 1 0) and (1 0 0) faces and 10 times higher than the (1 1¯ 1¯) face at the same supersaturations and temperatures. The GRD of the four faces were similar when expressed as a function of growth rate. However, the (0 1 1) face displayed lower GRD than the other faces at the same temperatures and supersaturations.