Analysis of Seed Loading and Supersaturation Trajectories for Two-Dimensional Crystallization Systems

The effect of seed loading and batch trajectory on the growth of crystals with two size coordinates is studied using a simple model for two crystallization systems known to exhibit shape evolution: hen egg white lysozyme and hydroquinone. For moderate seed loading, batch trajectories that lead to a high supersaturation near the beginning of the batch result in a larger nucleated mass and less growth of the seed crystals than other alternatives, while trajectories that keep the supersaturation almost constant give good performance. Increasing seed mass and decreasing seed size also improves performance. Critical seed loading analysis shows that the two-dimensional systems considered in this work behave similarly to one-dimensional crystallization systems considered 4 2 previously.