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Optimization of a Continuous Precipitation Process to Produce Nanoscale BaSO 4
Author(s) -
Pieper M.,
Aman S.,
Hintz W.,
Tomas J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201000405
Subject(s) - supersaturation , nucleation , particle size , agglomerate , mixing (physics) , chemical engineering , precipitation , yield (engineering) , particle (ecology) , materials science , chemistry , thermodynamics , composite material , organic chemistry , meteorology , physics , oceanography , quantum mechanics , engineering , geology
The effect of supersaturation, reaction temperature, and mixing intensity on particle size was investigated. Sterical stabilization of barium sulfate suspensions was applied to prevent formation of agglomerates. This allowed a reactant ratio of 1:1, thus maximizing product yield. The local supersaturation is strongly affected by the mixing intensity that can be characterized by Reynolds numbers. The significant decrease in particle size was observed by increasing the Reynolds number from 600 to 8000. A higher reactant concentration leads to a higher degree of supersaturation, and finer particles are precipitated. The particle size can be reduced with increasing reactant concentration. The degree of supersaturation increases with temperature reduction, i.e., the particle size will be reduced at low temperature. In addition, nucleation and growth kinetics are changed in a way that reduces the particle size. The optimized lab‐scale process is capable of producing over 1 kg h –1 of nanoscaled BaSO 4 with a median diameter of 75 nm.