Abstract
A comprehensive description of the barium sulfate precipitation process in a wide range of supersaturations is presented. By using an additive to stabilize the particles, the decoupling of the primary from the secondary processes, as well as the agglomeration from aggregation was possible. By being able to study the two processes independently, a model describing the agglomeration of barium sulfate in the range of high supersaturations was validated experimentally for the first time. The proposed model has proven to describe the experiments with a high degree of accuracy in the whole range of supersaturations investigated. Additionally, by comparing agglomeration kernels of various complexity, ranges where simplifications are possible were identified, thus enabling the future development of models with better performance.
Highlights
Microparticle formation by precipitation is an important complex process, where process design, being challenging and expensive, may benefit from a model-based approach
By being able to study the two processes independently, a model describing the agglomeration of barium sulfate in the range of high supersaturations was validated experimentally for the first time
The proposed model has proven to describe the experiments with a high degree of accuracy in the whole range of supersaturations investigated
Summary
Microparticle formation by precipitation is an important complex process, where process design, being challenging and expensive, may benefit from a model-based approach. A lot of effort has been devoted to the decoupling of the different phenomena involved to study them separately, resulting in most of the studies focusing on a relatively small range of concentrations. This allowed for the identification of the governing mechanisms and for the development of the first principle equations describing the various mechanisms in the process like nucleation and growth [1, 2]. Some work has been performed in studying agglomeration under such conditions, but the resulting models were only developed for limited values of supersaturation [3, 4], whilst a comprehensive description valid in a wide range of operating conditions and enabling predictions and process design is still lacking
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