GROWTH RATES OF POTASSIUM SULPHATE CRYSTALS OF DIFFERENT SURFACE QUALITIES IN THE SIZE RANGE FROM 10-100 μm

Growth rate data of surface-integration controlled growing potassium sulphate crystals in the size range. 10-100μm are presented. The experiments were carried out in an agitated vessel crystallizer. The crystal growth rates were calculated from the shift of the population distributions with time as measured by a Coulter-Counter. In particular the effect of different surface qualities on the growth rates was investigated and clearly demonstrated. The existence of a growth rate dispersion (GRD) was shown for crystals in an agitated crystallizer. This is a new observation since previously this effect was only investigated for stagnant solutions in the case of the above mentioned range of crystal sizes.