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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Mass Transfer and Separation Processes

Crystallization

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/ˌkrɪstələˈzeɪʃən/nounCommon term

In chemical engineering, crystallization means: Forming solid crystals from a solution, usually by cooling it or evaporating the solvent, so that a pure solid product can be separated.

In Turkish: kristalizasyon, kristallendirme, kristallenme

How it is used

Common in pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, sugar and salt production. Engineers control supersaturation, cooling rate and seeding to get the right crystal size. The equipment is a crystallizer; the liquid left behind is the mother liquor.

Example sentences

  1. A slower cooling rate during crystallization gives bigger crystals that filter more easily.

  2. We add seed crystals at 45 °C to start crystallization in a controlled way.

Common collocations

  • cooling crystallization
  • crystallization step
  • crystal size distribution
  • mother liquor
  • filtrationSeparating solid particles from a liquid or a gas by passing the mixture through a porous medium, such as a cloth, mesh or cartridge, that holds the solids back.
  • dryingRemoving water or another liquid from a solid, usually by heating it with hot gas or under vacuum, until it reaches the required moisture content.
  • extractionA separation method that uses a solvent to pull a component out of a liquid or solid mixture, based on how much better it dissolves in the solvent.
  • unit operationA basic physical step that appears in many different processes, such as distillation, filtration, drying or heat exchange. Any plant can be described as a chain of these steps.

More terms: Mass Transfer and Separation Processes

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