DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CENTRIFUGES FOR FAST SOLVENT-EXTRACTION OF TRANSACTINIDE ELEMENTS

The H-0.3 liquid-liquid centrifuge applied for rapid and efficient sep aration of two liquid phases, and the HG-0.1 gas-liquid centrifuge use d to separate the gas phase stemming from a gas jet transportation sys tem and the liquid phase, have been further improved. New centrifuges have been produced of PEEK, a plastic material, which makes them resis tant to most aqueous and organic solutions. The performance with respe ct to time behavior and phase purity is comparable to the titanium cen trifuges used so far. The H-0.3 centrifuge has been applied to solvent extraction studies of Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf,Ta, W and Pa from HF solutions i nto tri-n-octylamine.