Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer
Lithium carbonate is an important material in the lithium battery. The materials can be obtained from a reactive crystallization process. To prepare the higher-quality crystals, such as purity, crystal size distribution, and desired morphology, it needs to be controlled effectively in the crystalliz...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Crystals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/14/12/1021 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850049644500877312 |
|---|---|
| author | Pao-Chi Chen Jyun-Hong Jhuang Chung-En Tseng Zhong-Yi Lin |
| author_facet | Pao-Chi Chen Jyun-Hong Jhuang Chung-En Tseng Zhong-Yi Lin |
| author_sort | Pao-Chi Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lithium carbonate is an important material in the lithium battery. The materials can be obtained from a reactive crystallization process. To prepare the higher-quality crystals, such as purity, crystal size distribution, and desired morphology, it needs to be controlled effectively in the crystallization process. Therefore, a study of crystallization kinetics was required. Here, the metastable region was explored first. Subsequently, a LiCl-K<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>-H<sub>2</sub>O reaction system in a continuous stirred-tank crystallizer with controlling pH was used to study the crystallization kinetics, such as nucleation rate (B<sup>0</sup>), agglomeration kernel (β), and crystal growth rate (G), which can be determined with measured crystal size distribution at a steady-state condition using an agglomeration population balance model. The process variables include lithium chloride solution flow rate, potassium carbonate solution flow rate, and stirring speed. The results show that B<sup>0</sup>, β, and G were in the range of 3.47 × 10<sup>9</sup>–5.98 × 10<sup>12</sup> no/m<sup>3</sup>·s, 1.78 × 10<sup>−19</sup>–1.20 × 10<sup>−12</sup> m<sup>3</sup>-slurry/no·s, and 3.00 × 10<sup>−11</sup>–2.11 × 10<sup>−10</sup> m/s, respectively, depending on the operating conditions. All relative supersaturations were in the range of 1.22–2.04. In addition, the crystal size observed was found to be in the range of 1.28–32.7 μm, with irregular platelet forms in most cases. In addition, more slurry density can be obtained at the feed rate of 40 mL/min. A linear regression for crystallization kinetics was also discussed in this work. Finally, this process demonstrated that the recycling of lithium was possible for a circular economy. Therefore, the result can be used as a reference for larger-scale operations in industry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e84ecbe08ac2453b9c3c90c54561dc4f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-4352 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Crystals |
| spelling | doaj-art-e84ecbe08ac2453b9c3c90c54561dc4f2025-08-20T02:53:40ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522024-11-011412102110.3390/cryst14121021Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank CrystallizerPao-Chi Chen0Jyun-Hong Jhuang1Chung-En Tseng2Zhong-Yi Lin3Department of Semiconductor Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan City 333326, TaiwanDepartment of Semiconductor Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan City 333326, TaiwanDepartment of Semiconductor Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan City 333326, TaiwanDepartment of Semiconductor Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan City 333326, TaiwanLithium carbonate is an important material in the lithium battery. The materials can be obtained from a reactive crystallization process. To prepare the higher-quality crystals, such as purity, crystal size distribution, and desired morphology, it needs to be controlled effectively in the crystallization process. Therefore, a study of crystallization kinetics was required. Here, the metastable region was explored first. Subsequently, a LiCl-K<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>-H<sub>2</sub>O reaction system in a continuous stirred-tank crystallizer with controlling pH was used to study the crystallization kinetics, such as nucleation rate (B<sup>0</sup>), agglomeration kernel (β), and crystal growth rate (G), which can be determined with measured crystal size distribution at a steady-state condition using an agglomeration population balance model. The process variables include lithium chloride solution flow rate, potassium carbonate solution flow rate, and stirring speed. The results show that B<sup>0</sup>, β, and G were in the range of 3.47 × 10<sup>9</sup>–5.98 × 10<sup>12</sup> no/m<sup>3</sup>·s, 1.78 × 10<sup>−19</sup>–1.20 × 10<sup>−12</sup> m<sup>3</sup>-slurry/no·s, and 3.00 × 10<sup>−11</sup>–2.11 × 10<sup>−10</sup> m/s, respectively, depending on the operating conditions. All relative supersaturations were in the range of 1.22–2.04. In addition, the crystal size observed was found to be in the range of 1.28–32.7 μm, with irregular platelet forms in most cases. In addition, more slurry density can be obtained at the feed rate of 40 mL/min. A linear regression for crystallization kinetics was also discussed in this work. Finally, this process demonstrated that the recycling of lithium was possible for a circular economy. Therefore, the result can be used as a reference for larger-scale operations in industry.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/14/12/1021crystallization kineticslithium carbonatemetastable regionagglomeration |
| spellingShingle | Pao-Chi Chen Jyun-Hong Jhuang Chung-En Tseng Zhong-Yi Lin Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer Crystals crystallization kinetics lithium carbonate metastable region agglomeration |
| title | Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer |
| title_full | Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer |
| title_fullStr | Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer |
| title_short | Crystallization Kinetics of Lithium Carbonate in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Crystallizer |
| title_sort | crystallization kinetics of lithium carbonate in a continuous stirred tank crystallizer |
| topic | crystallization kinetics lithium carbonate metastable region agglomeration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/14/12/1021 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT paochichen crystallizationkineticsoflithiumcarbonateinacontinuousstirredtankcrystallizer AT jyunhongjhuang crystallizationkineticsoflithiumcarbonateinacontinuousstirredtankcrystallizer AT chungentseng crystallizationkineticsoflithiumcarbonateinacontinuousstirredtankcrystallizer AT zhongyilin crystallizationkineticsoflithiumcarbonateinacontinuousstirredtankcrystallizer |