Simple, low-cost, and high-efficient new apparatus, emulsion flow extractor, for liquid-liquid extraction of minor metals

Naganawa, Hirochika  

Liquid-liquid extraction (solvent extraction) is a method for extracting a target component from an aqueous solution into an organic solvent immiscible in water, which is very popular in industry especially in metal refining. In the emulsion flow extractor, the flow of an emulsion, which is a fine mixture of aqueous and organic phases, arises by generating micrometer-sized liquid droplets with a nozzle head, and the emulsion flow then promptly disappears by itself with a drastic change of the cross-section area of its passing in the extractor vessel structure. In short, aqueous and organic phases can be effectively mixed to an emulsified condition and then these two liquid phases can be quickly separated to their perfectly clear condition by only sending liquids. Therefore, the emulsion flow extractor is markedly low-cost and simple compared with conventional apparatuses (mixer-settler, etc.) despite showing the highest performance.