The kinetics of crystallization of potassium bromide from aqueous solution

Abstract

The densities of aqueous solutions of potassium bromide have been determined as a function of concentration and temperature up to saturation at temperatures between 10 and 50°. The saturation line and nucleation were studied, over the same temperature range, in a circulatory crystallizer with continuous concentration monitoring. Small quantities of seed crystals were grown under different degrees of supersaturation and at different temperatures, so that the mass transfer coefficients and the activation energy for deposition from solution could be measured. The activation energy of the crystallization process was 100·9 kJ mol−1, indicating that the rate-determining step was the incorporation of KBr on to the crystal lattice. Rapidly-grown crystals might thus be expected to be softer, and this proved to be so.