Agglomeration of paracetamol during crystallization in pure and mixed solvents

• The agglomeration of paracetamol during crystallization has been investigated. It is shown that the agglomeration behavior depends on the solvent composition. The following solvent systems were used in isothermal desupersaturation experiments: five different acetone-toluene-water mixtures and the pure solvents acetone, 2-propanol, acetic acid, and ethylene glycol. Sieving, image analysis processed by principal component analysis, and agglomerate strength measurements were used to characterize the product particles. Mixtures with a high concentration of acetone were found to produce a highly agglomerated product with strong agglomerates. In contrast, products from crystallization in ethylene glycol, 2-propanol, acetic acid, and acetone-toluene-water mixtures having a high concentration of water contained not only agglomerates but also a significant fraction of single crystals. Furthermore, the agglomerates formed in these solvents were much weaker than those produced in mixtures with a high content of acetone. The results were correlated with the polarity and the viscosity of the solvents.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Kemiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Chemical Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

strength measurement

precipitation

crystals

mixtures

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