Alumina trihydrate crystallization. Part 1. Secondary nucleation and growth rate kinetics

The kinetics of crystallization of alumina trihydroxide (hydrargillite) from caustic aluminate solutions of industrial composition (second stage BAYER process) were studied in a laboratory batch isothermal crystallizer. The yield and crystal size distribution of precipitate with time were obtained by varying the initial seed concentration. In this paper, the mass balance was used to determine nucleation and growth rate kinetics. First, from among the laws available in the literature, those which applied to alumina trihydrate crystallization were defined (model A). Kinetic constants of this model were calculated from experimental results. Then, a model based on a secondary nucleation mechanism was proposed (model B) that fits experimental data, and explains the induction periods found in the decomposition of aluminate solutions, even when seeds are present.