Study of lactose crystallization in vibrated bed using high and specific seeding

Abstract

Lactose crystallization is an operation addressed in several scientific studies and used in dairy industries to obtain a final product with high purity, even from impure solutions. Vibration agitation becomes a relevant factor in promoting mass transfer solution-crystalline surface and minimizing breakages and ruptures in the latter. The crystallization step can be triggered by the seeding of particles (fines) of the same substance to be crystallized, promoting greater control and uniform particle size. The objective of this work was to study the operation of crystallization of lactose in a vibrated bed, using high seeding with controlled structure and size (specific). A central composite design with subsequent optimization was used as a statistical tool. Optimum operating levels were obtained, which returned responses of average productivity of 119.0 ± 2.1% and average diameter of 8.06 ± 0.22×10-6 m, also promoting an increase in the average size of crystallization products (growth of 43.6%), which was not observed in the previous study such as seeding with milled commercial lactose.