(400al) CFD-Guided Analysis of Heat Distribution and Crystal Retention in a Cooling Crystallization System for Lithium Recovery

The recovery of lithium ions from desalination reject brine through cooling crystallization presents a sustainable solution for resource extraction and brine management. To support the development of a crystallization system for lithium carbonate recovery, initial experiments were conducted using saturated sodium chloride (NaCl) solution as a model system. NaCl was chosen due to its ease of crystallization, visual clarity, and suitability for evaluating flow and thermal effects during early-stage system development.

The experimental setup involved a continuous crystallization unit operated under controlled conditions at 60 °C, with flow introduced at a low rate to minimize disturbance. Crystal growth was primarily initiated at the boundary between the surface of the circular sieve plate and the surrounding solution and progressively expanded upward along the submerged portion of the plate. This observation suggests that the local thermal and flow conditions near the solid–liquid interface strongly influence nucleation and crystal retention.

To investigate these effects in greater detail, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling will be used to simulate flow behavior and heat distribution within the crystallizer. The objective is to identify thermally favorable zones that support stable crystal growth. These insights will inform future experiments involving lithium carbonate and magnesium chloride, contributing to the design of high-efficiency, low-energy Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) crystallization systems.