화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol.469, 36-41, 2017
Effects of CO2 fine bubble injection on reactive crystallization of dolomite from concentrated brine
In this study, we used the minute gas-liquid interfaces around CO2 fine bubbles as new reaction fields where the crystal nucleation proceeds dominantly and developed a crystallization technique to synthesize dolomite (CaMg(CO3)(2)) with the desired crystal quality. CaMg(CO3)(2) has a crystal structure derived from calcite by ordered replacement of the Ca2+ in calcite by Mg2+. To improve the functionality of the crystal for better utilization of the CaMg(CO3)(2), an effective method for an approach to a Mg/Ca ratio of 1.0 and downsizing is indispensable in the crystallization process. In the vicinity of the minute gas liquid interfaces, the accumulation of Ca2+ and Mg2+ is caused by the negative electric charge on the fine bubbles surface; thus, CaMg(CO3)2 fine particles with a high Mg/Ca ratio can be expected to crystallize. At a reaction temperature (T-r) of 298 K and CO2 flow rate (F-co2) of 11.9 mmol/(L min), CO2 bubbles with an average bubble diameter (d(bbl)) of 40-2000 mu m were continuously supplied to 300 mL of the concentrated brine coming from salt manufacture discharge and CaMg(CO3)(2) crystallized within a reaction time of 120 min. Fine bubbles with dbbl of 40 gm were generated using a self-supporting bubble generator by increasing the impeller shear rate under reduced pressure. For comparison, the bubbles with d(bbl) of 300 or 2000 gm were obtained using a dispersing-type generator. Moreover, F-CO2 and T-r were varied as operating parameters during the reactive crystallization supplying CO2 fine bubbles. Consequently, CO2 fine bubble injection is effective for the high-yield crystallization of CaMg(CO3)(2) with a Mg/Ca ratio of 1.0 and downsizing of CaMg(CO3)(2) particles owing to the acceleration of crystal nucleation caused by the local increase in the supersaturation at the minute gas-liquid interfaces. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.