6. Shaking crystallizers

6.1 The role of agitation

In a stirred crystallizer, the crystals must be suspended in the mother liquor, and there must be good circulation of the solution. This facilitates the transfer of liquid-solid matter, and accelerates the transfer of the heat generated during crystallization to the cooling surfaces. In general, excessive turbulence should be avoided, as this could lead to crystal abrasion and secondary nucleation.

There are three main families of stirrers used in crystallization processes [J 3 802]...