Effect of ultrasound on the induction time and the metastable zone widths of potassium sulphate

Nathalie Lyczko (1) , Fabienne Espitalier (1) , Olivier Louisnard (1) , Jacques Schwartzentruber (1)

1 Poudres et procédés - Ecole des Mines Albi-Carmaux

A study of cooling crystallisation of a potassium sulphate solution in a batch reactor is described in this paper. The effect of ultrasound on primary nucleation was investigated by measures of induction time and metastable zone width of unseeded solutions. The appearance of crystals is detected by conductivity measurements. The experimental results show that ultrasound has an effect on the primary nucleation of potassium sulphate. Ultrasound allows induction time and metastable zone width to be significantly reduced.

Mots clés: Induction time; Metastable zone; Ultrasound; Potassium sulphate; Nucleation

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Nathalie Lyczko, Fabienne Espitalier, Olivier Louisnard, Jacques Schwartzentruber. Effect of ultrasound on the induction time and the metastable zone widths of potassium sulphate. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2002, 86 (3), pp.233-241. ⟨10.1016/S1385-8947(01)00164-4⟩. ⟨hal-01678814⟩