Growth Kinetics of Cane Sugar Crystals by Image Analysis

This work reports an experimental investigation on sucrose crystal growth. Single crystals in a supersaturated solution were observed under a digital microscope. The changes in crystal lengths along the two dimensions with time were measured and the linear growth rates were determined. Significant growth rate dispersion among different crystals was detected so that further investigation of crystal growth was performed on the same crystal. The effects of temperature and mother liquor concentration on crystal growth were investigated and the obtained results were in agreement with other research works. Finally, the influence of a magnetic field on the growth rate was checked. At an intensity of 0.5 T, the magnetic field seems to slightly enhance the crystal growth rate; however, this effect is quite small. An experimental investigation on sucrose crystal growth rates is reported. Linear growth was demonstrated by image analysis and a high growth rate dispersion was detected. The effects of temperature and solution concentration were investigated and the obtained results are in good agreement with the literature.