Determination of crystal growth kinetics using ultrasonic technique

The applicability of the ultrasonic measurement technique for the determination of crystal growth kinetics was examined. Therefore, the desupersaturation curves of various solutions of inorganic and organic substances were measured in seeded isothermal batch crystallization experiments. For evaluating the crystal growth kinetics from the desupersaturation curves, a method based on the determination of the initial derivatives was used. Apart from the desupersaturation curves the saturation and nucleation limits of the metastable zones were determined by using the ultrasonic technique. The results obtained for copper sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO4 (.) 5H(2)O) and potash alum (KAl(SO4)(2) (.) 12H(2)O) are presented and discussed. The ultrasonic measurement technique was proven to be an accurate, reproducible, fast, and easy to use technique.