10. Conclusion

Crystallization occurs in thermodynamically unstable solutions, where the driving force behind particle formation is a difference in the chemical potential of the solute between the solution and its equilibrium state. The methods used to reach this supersaturated state involve cooling or evaporation of the solution, or precipitation, for which different types of crystallizer exist. The two fundamental processes involved in crystallization are nucleation, giving rise to a large number of very fine crystals, and growth of these crystals. The final size distribution of the crystal population produced is governed by a combination of these two kinetic processes, as well as by the residence time of the crystals in the apparatus. Population balance is used to describe this size distribution.

On a laboratory scale, we can set up an ideal, continuously operating crystallizer,...