APPLICATION OF ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN LIQUID-LIQUID DISPERSION TO SOLVENT-EXTRACTION USING TRI-N-BUTYL PHOSPHATE

An alternative current (A.C.) electric field was applied to disperse a n aqueous phase of nitric acid solution in a solvent extraction system using tri-n-buthyl phosphate (TBP) diluted with n-dodecane. The diame ter of the aqueous droplet dispersed through the A.C. electric field s howed a log-normal distribution and an average diameter was 0.02 mm in 10% TBP. This average diameter is approximately 1/10 of the value obt ained in the pulsed column which is currently used for nuclear fuel re processing. Through a batch-wise extraction experiment of U(VI), it wa s shown that extraction efficiency increases with frequency of the A.C . electric field. Through another experiment in continuous flow system , it was observed that the entrainment fraction of the aqueous phase i nto the product flow of an organic phase increases slightly with flow rate ratio, and yet it was found that it can be controled to be less t han 0.2%. The experimental results indicate that application of the A. C. electric field is more suitable for lower TBP concentrations becaus e of the increase of the electric conductivity of organic phase.