Crystal Growth Kinetics via Isothermal Seeded Batch Crystallization: Evaluation of Measurement Techniques and Application to Mandelic Acid in Water

Measurements of crystal growth kinetics are often performed by isothermal seeded batch experiments. On the basis of measurements for the chiral system mandelic acid/water, this work deals with (a) the experimental evaluation of different analytical techniques to determine simultaneously the solute concentration in the liquid phase and crystal-size-related data and (b) their application to isothermal seeded batch experiments. Calibrations of the applied measurement techniques and the accuracy obtainable are depicted. Metastable zone width measurements are presented, establishing a basis for growth kinetics investigations via isothermal seeded batch experiments. The applicability of the analytical techniques for monitoring isothermal seeded batch experiments is assessed by evaluating measurement results obtained under various experimental conditions. General tendencies with regards to the crystal growth of mandelic acid in water are discussed.