CRA200 – Continuous Crystallization Teaching Unit

The CRA200 Continuous Crystallization Unit from Pignat is a bench-scale teaching pilot for studying crystallization as a continuous purification process in chemical engineering. It reproduces industrial practice at laboratory scale, transferring a hot solution from a heated feed vessel through a peristaltic pump into a chilled, stirred crystallizer where controlled cooling drives the solute out of an oversaturated solution. A level detector allows the resulting slurry of crystals and liquid to be drawn off continuously and filtered under vacuum, giving students a complete view of the process from feed preparation to product recovery. The unit is built around a 3 L glass crystallizer with a stainless steel lid, immersed cooling coil, draining valve, automatic drawing-off and integrated temperature measurement. Stirring is provided by a variable-speed motor running from 50 to 1300 rpm with a three-blade propeller and local speed display. The feed solution is prepared in a 10 L graduated glass tank fitted with a heating element and magnetic stirrer, and delivered by a variable-flow peristaltic pump. A heating and cooling thermoregulator group offers 2 kW of heating and 500 W of cooling to 20 degrees C, while a glass Buchner filter connected to a vacuum line completes the separation stage. Data supervision and acquisition run through a 7 inch colour touch screen displaying the synoptic, control parameters and real-time and historical curves. Delivered with an educational handbook and full technical documentation, the unit can be customised to suit teaching requirements, and an optional membrane vacuum pump is available for the Buchner filter. Measuring 140 x 60 x 110 cm and weighing 70 kg on a stainless steel tubular framework, it runs from a standard 100 to 240 V single-phase supply. Bestech Australia supplies the CRA200 Continuous Crystallization Unit with on-site training and commissioning support available.