PROCESS FOR THE CRYSTALLISATION OF A WATER-SOLUBLE COMPOUND

摘要

A process for the crystallisation of a water-soluble compound is disclosed. The process comprises (a) providing, in a crystallisation vessel, a solution of the water-soluble compound in a mixture of water and a solvent in which the water-soluble compound has a lower solubility than in water; (b) passing vapour phase of the mixture through a sorption zone containing a water vapour sorbent to selectively adsorb water from the vapour phase; (c) recycling a part of the vapour phase to the crystallisation vessel or withdrawing vapour phase depleted in water from the process and adding solvent to the crystallisation vessel; (d) allowing solid crystals of the water-soluble compound to precipitate from the solution; and (e) discharging precipitated solid crystals of the water-soluble compound from the crystallisation vessel and discharging a solution of non-crystallised water-soluble compound in water-solvent mixture from the crystallisation vessel.