Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.49, No.10, 4865-4872, 2010
Taylor Vortex Effect on Phase Transformation of Guanosine 5-Monophosphate in Drowning-Out Crystallization
A continuous Couette-Taylor (CT) crystallizer exploiting a Taylor vortex was developed to promote the phase transformation of guanosine 5-monophosphate (GMP). In drowning-out crystallization, amorphous GMP is initially generated and then transformed into hydrate GMP crystals via the consecutive dissolution of the amorphous GMP and nucleation and growth of hydrate GMP crystals. Because of the intensive mixing of the Taylor vortex, the dissolution of the amorphous GMP and growth of the hydrate GMP crystals were both markedly promoted, allowing the phase transformation to be completed within a mean residence time of 5 min, even with a high GMP feed concentration of 150 g/L and moderate rotation speed of 300 rpm This result was at least 5 times faster than the phase transformation in a mixed suspension, mixed product removal (MSMPR) crystallizer under the same crystallization conditions. The phase transformation efficiency of the Taylor vortex over the turbulent eddy in the MSMPR crystallizer was explained in terms of the effectiveness of the turbulence for the mass transfer at the solid liquid interface.