Abstract
Crystals experience changes in both size and shape during growth. A method is developed for the simultaneous prediction of crystal shape evolution and size distribution for solution crystallization processes by combining shape evolution modeling and population balance modeling techniques. When surface integration is the rate‐controlling step and each face grows by the same mechanism (for example, the screw dislocation mechanism), the relative growth rates of crystal faces are constant, and the crystal volume can be represented by a piecewise smooth function of the crystal size. The process can then be described by a simple 1‐dimensional (1‐D) population balance model linked with the shape evolution model. The current method is applicable to tablet‐shaped crystals with a dominant face of arbitrary initial size and shape. Such crystals can be treated as two‐dimensional (2‐D). A case study of succinic acid crystals grown from water illustrates the applicability and simplicity of the proposed method. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50: 2101–2112, 2004