CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Technological Institute of the Philippines – Manila

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING REVIEW: CRYSTALLIZATION
SY 2017-18 1ST SEMESTER

1. 5,000 lb/h of a saturated aqueous solution of (NH 4)2SO4 at 80 °C is cooled to 30 °C. At

equilibrium, what is the amount of crystals formed in lb/h? If during the cooling process,
50% of the water is evaporated, what amount of crystals is formed in lb/h?
2. 7,500 lb/h of a 50 wt % aqueous solution of FeCl 3 at 100 °C is cooled to 20 °C. At 100 °C,
the solubility of the FeCl3 is 540 g/100 g of water. At 20 °C, the solubility is 91.8/100 g of
water, and crystals of FeCl3 are the hexahydrate. At equilibrium at 20 °C, determine the
lb/h of crystals formed.
3. A concentrate from an evaporation system is 5,870 lb/h of 35 wt % MgSO 4 at 180 °F and 25
psia. It is mixed with 10,500 lb/h of saturated aqueous recycle filtrate of MgSO 4 at 80 °F
and 25 psia. The mixture is sent to a vacuum crystallizer, operating at 85 °F and 0.58 psia,
to produce steam and a magma of 25 wt % crystals and 75 wt % saturated solution.
Determine the lb/h of water evaporated and the maximum production of crystals in
tons/day (dry basis).

4. 2 tons/h of the dodecahydrate of sodium phosphate is to be crystallized by cooling in a

cooling crystallizer, an aqueous solution that enters saturated at 40 °C and leaves at 20
°C. Chilled cooling water flows counter-currently, entering at 10 °C and exiting at 25 °C.
The over-all heat transfer coefficient is 20 BTU/h·ft2·°F. Solution average specific heat is
0.80 cal/g·°C. estimate the: (a) tons/h of feed solution, (b) heat transfer are in ft 2, (c)
number of crystallizer units if each 10 ft long unit contains 30 ft2 of heat transfer surface.

5. 10 Mg of a solution containing 0.3 kg Na2CO3/kg solution is cooled slowly to 293 K to form

crystals of Na2CO3·10H2O. What is the yield of crystals if the solubility of Na 2CO3 at 293 K
is 21.5 kg/100 kg water and during cooling 3% of the original solution is lost by
evaporation?

6. One ton of Na2S2O3·5H2O is to be crystallized per hour by cooling a solution containing

56.5% Na2S2O3 to 30°C in a Swenson-Walker crystallizer. Evaporation is negligible. The
product is to be sized closely to approximately 14 mesh. Seed crystals closely sized to 20
mesh are introduced with the solution as it enters the crystallizer. How many tons of seed
crystals and how many tons of solutions are required per hour? At 30°C, solubility of
Na2S2O3 is 83 parts per 100 parts water.

7. Find the amount of crystals to be liberated in a crystallizer when 10 tons of saturated

aqueous solutions of potash are cooled from 80 to 35 °C without evaporation of the water.
The potash crystallizes with two molecules of water per molecule of K2CO3. The solubility
curve gives the concentrations of the saturated aqueous solutions of potash as follows: 80
°C – 10 mol K2CO3 per 1,000 g H2O; 35 °C – 8.15 mol K2CO3 per 1,000 g H2O

8. To what temperature does a hot 40% aqueous solution of potassium nitrate have to be
cooled for the concentration of the mother liquor to be half of the initial after it is cooled
and crystals freeze out?

9. A saturated solution of potassium chloride at 90 °C containing 700 kg potassium chloride

is cooled to 20 °C in an open tank by circulation of water. The cooling water enters the
tank at 15 °C through a jacket and leaves at 25 °C. The average specific heat and density
of the solution are 0.48 cal/g∙°C and 1.2 g/cm3, respectively. Assuming the OHTC to be 120
kcal/h∙m2∙°C, determine (A) capacity of the tank, (B) weight of the crystals obtained, (C)
cooling surface of the tank.