Particle size distribution design of limited agglomeration via geometric morphology in erythritol crystallization

Abstract

Regarding sugar and salt crystallization with large single crystals, the agglomerate thermodynamics and geometric morphologies, not the dynamics, dominate the particle size distribution (PSD). To consider this issue, a PSD design model is proposed for limited large crystal agglomeration. In this model, the agglomeration thermodynamic criticality is determined by estimating the adhesion and dispersion forces between single crystals. The geometric agglomerate morphologies are described by corresponding single crystal units stacking with porosity. By seed well-controlled of population, the key parameters of PSD (D01, D50 and D99) are precisely designed. For erythritol, the model design accuracies are 92%–99% in the 1.2 L and 10 L crystallizers, indicating that it can design PSD at various crystallization scales. Concerning the general research attention to microcrystal agglomeration kinetics (mostly active pharmaceutical ingredients), this model effectively guides the sugar and salt PSD design with limited large crystal agglomeration.