A Direct Contact Cooled Crystallizer

A method and an apparatus are described for crystallization of salts from their solutions by direct cooling with an immiscible coolant dispersed into drops. The heat absorbed by the coolant in the crystallizer is partly rejected in a direct contact heat exchanger, by contact with the cold depleted solution discharged from the crystallizer. The heat rejection is accomplished in an indirect cooler. The smaller the portion of heat rejected in the cooler, the more efficient thermally is the process. In comparison to other crystallizers, the described process shows the advantage of continuous operation and high thermal economy; it has, however, the disadvantage of operating an additional thermal unit.