Kinetic Study on Sodium Sulfate Synthesis by Reactive Crystallization

Abstract

In this work, the kinetics of the reaction between sodium chloride and sulfuric acid, in aqueous solution and in the presence of ethanol as antisolvent, was studied as a function of each reactant concentration and temperature. The thermometric method was implemented to fit the experimental data obtained in an adiabatic batch reactor. The initial reaction rate methodology was applied to determine the order of reaction as well as the specific reaction rate constants. The reaction rate corresponded to an elementary reaction. Good agreement between experimental and simulation temperature profiles was achieved (absolute average deviation (AAD) of ∼1.15%). The reactive crystallization process was found to be very selective to anhydrous Na2SO4, with yields higher than 95 wt %.