LAUSR

An elliptical Couette-Taylor (ECT) crystallizer with a unique sinusoidal Taylor vortex flow was developed to promote the recovery and size distribution of L-lysine crystals in cooling crystallization. When using the ECT crystallizer, the recovery was enhanced to a maximum of 100% with a mean residence time of only 15 min. When comparing the crystallization efficiency, the recovery and size distribution of the L-lysine crystals in the ECT crystallizer were over 33% and 50% higher, respectively, than those in the conventional MSMPR crystallizer and slightly higher than those in the circular Couette-Taylor (CT) crystallizer. This improved crystallization in the ECT crystallizer was explained in terms of the sinusoidal profile of the Taylor vortex intensity. Plus, since the nucleation and growth processes determine the recovery and crystal size distribution, the mean residence time, inner cylinder rotation speed, and feed concentration were all varied to investigate their influence on the crystallization efficiency.