The Precipitation of Strontium and Lead Sulphates from Aqueous Solution. Kinetics of the Crystal Growth

The precipitation of strontium and lead sulphates from well-stirred supersaturated aqueous solutions, of initial solute concentrations C₀ = 0.001 to 0.020 M and C₀ = 0.0002 to 0.003 M respectively, was studied at 20° and 40°C by chemical analysis and optical microscopy. Nucleation occurred during induction periods and continuous regular growth then took place onto the nuclei formed during these periods. Crystallisation was complete after 4 to 48 hr. The crystal growth was rate-controlled by the rate of deposition of metal salt ions onto the growing crystal surfaces. This rate (dC/dt), at any growth time, then depended on both the overall surface area (A_t) and on the residual excess solute concentration (ΔC_t) in solution according to the relation while the growth rate (dα/dt), expressed in terms of degree of crystallisation, was . The rate constants (k_α) for the crystal growth of strontium and lead sulphates at 20°C were 22 and 4200 sec⁻¹ M⁻² respectively — that is, greatest for the salt with least cation hydration –; these constants increased 4 to 6 times for 20°C temperature rise. The rate-determining process for the metal salt deposition was probably the ion dehydration.