6. Conclusions

In the present work, a Taylor-Couette reactor was employed for the purpose of controllable production of barium sulfate particles with various morphologies. The morphologies obtained include flake particles, transition particles and granule particles. During the reactive precipitation process, three main control parameters were assessed. The presence of a particular morphology results from the combined effect of these parameters. For different solution conditions, the influence of fluid dynamic environment inside the Taylor-Couette reactor on particle morphology may change. In general, morphology transition is suggested to be related to the change of flow pattern that the turbulent eddies strongly interact with the particle crystals. Considering the joint effect of fluid dynamics and supersaturation, it can be deduced that micro-mixing caused by fluid shear plays a primary role in species dispersion, which determines the formation of various morphologies, while the supersaturation controls the crystallization process, which determines the onset of transition state. Both fluid shear and supersaturation can finally affect the interfacial concentration distribution, thus particle growth. Then particle agglomeration
