Effect of Solution Stoichiometry on BaSO4 Crystallization from Turbidity Measurements and Modeling

V F D Peters; A Baken; S Y M H Seepma; J A Koskamp; A Fernández-Martínez; A E S van Driessche; M Wolthers

doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.3c03612

Effect of Solution Stoichiometry on BaSO₄ Crystallization from Turbidity Measurements and Modeling

Ind Eng Chem Res. 2023 Dec 22;63(1):78-88. doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.3c03612. eCollection 2024 Jan 10.

Authors

V F D Peters¹, A Baken^{2

3}, S Y M H Seepma¹, J A Koskamp¹, A Fernández-Martínez², A E S van Driessche^{2

4}, M Wolthers¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
² Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, IFSTTAR, ISTerre, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
³ ESRF-The European Synchrotron, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
⁴ Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (IACT), CSIC-Universidad de Granada, Av. De las Palmeras 4, 18100 Armilla, Spain.

Abstract

The impact of solution stoichiometry on the nucleation and growth of BaSO₄ was studied by measuring solution transmittance and subsequent fitting to a crystallization model. Our results show that a large excess of either Ba²⁺ or SO₄^2- ions inhibits both the nucleation and growth of BaSO₄. However, for a small excess of Ba²⁺, the growth is enhanced. The dependence of nucleation and growth rates on supersaturation and solution stoichiometry was captured by a semiempirical rate model. Hence, the solution stoichiometry is a highly relevant parameter while studying all aspects of BaSO₄ crystallization, and it could be worthwhile to examine other minerals similarly.