Precipitation of Sodium Acetate Trihydrate from Its Supersaturated Solution

Abstract

The rate of crystallization of sodium acetate trihydrate from a supersaturated

solution in water was measured by seeding the solution contained

in a 50-cm long tube at one end, and measuring the speed at which the

solid-liquid boundary advanced. The rate of crystallization was found to

increase directly with the concentration of the solution, in accordance with

the equation proposed by Wilson and Frenkel. The rate was found to be

independent of the temperature in the range of the concentrations studied.

This has been explained in terms of a cancellation of opposite effects: that

of the degree of supersaturation on the one hand and of the viscosity and

diffusion on the other.