Elemental separation simulation in the ARTIST process; Separation simulation of counter-current extractor by commercial software

Yamaguchi, Isoo*; Suzuki, Shinichi; Sasaki, Yuji  ; Yamagishi, Isao ; Matsumura, Tatsuro  ; Kimura, Takaumi 

For the development of the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels, the solvent extraction using the mixer-settler equipment is greatly available. This method has the advantages of the treatment of the large mass of materials and continuous operations. In case of the application of the mixer-settler devise, the precise calculation using the distribution ratio of metals in order to determine the metal concentration at each stage is indispensable. This calculation is performed in the development of ARTIST process. The metal concentration in each stage of ARTIST process is calculated by the simulation using excel software equipped with counter-current equations. This method is not taken into consideration of the change of acid concentration, therefore, we developed the new method to calculate the metal concentration even after acidity change. This method can calculate not only the metal concentration at each extraction step but also at each stage of mixer-settler. Using this calculation, we evaluated the optimum condition of solvent extraction in ARTIST process.