Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Purification Process of Organic Materials in a Continuous Inclined Column Crystallizer

With the acrylic acid-propionic acid solid solution system, the purification process of organic materials in an inclined column crystallizer under continuous flow and at steady state was investigated. The influences of suspension density and reflux ratio on the separation and purification performance of the inclined column crystallizer are discussed. A simplified axial dispersion model for the purification section of an inclined column crystallizer is developed. The results of this study show that the suspension density is the most effective factor for the separation and purification performance of an inclined column crystallizer and that the product purity increases with suspension density. The reflux ratio is also an effective parameter for the separation and purification performance of an inclined column crystallizer, with the product purity increasing with reflux ratio for a given suspension density. The simplified axial dispersion model satisfactorily explains the concentration profile of the continuous inclined column crystallizer at steady state.